


Riley High School

by JustARandomIdiot



Category: Story Thieves Series - James Riley
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, Gen, High School AU, Multi, Slice of Life, also idk if end game is chowen kowen or some poly ship between the three, besides i'll focus more on the friendships in the beginning, only established thing is kwethany lol, the ships don't happen until later, there is a lot of friendship alsdkjslf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2019-08-08 16:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 27,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16433084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustARandomIdiot/pseuds/JustARandomIdiot
Summary: A series of one-shots for a High School Au of the Story Thieves series.





	1. New School

**Author's Note:**

> Info for this Au here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19L9GGIpD1rSZlMh4bS-24WRh93T-qCguC8Bf34ek66M/edit?usp=sharing
> 
> Anyway, there isn't going to be some overarching story, just a bunch of one-shots that are kind of in order because I'm usually better at one-shots and also there isn't some storyline for this anyway.

_That’s so awesome, we got accepted to the same school!_

 

After that text, Owen sent three smiling emojis, expressing his delight.

 

Bethany smiled. It was such a relief that someone else she knew was going to be there, especially her best friend.

 

_And Orion is going there too_

_Wait i dont think you know him sorry_

 

She was halfway through her next text before Owen had already responded.

 

_That’s your brother, right?_

 

_Yeah_

_Wait youve met him?_

 

The three dots were there for a while then disappeared, then came back quickly before Owen’s response was finally sent.

 

_Like once._

_He didn’t seem to like me. What’s his deal?_

 

Bethany couldn’t help but snicker.

 

_Hes just like that_

_Dont worry once were at riley high hell know you more and see youre not so bad_

_We’re***_

_He’ll***_

_Sorry my autocorrect isnt on and im lazy_

 

Owen sent back a laughing emoji.

 

_I don’t think Riley High is that bad!_

 

_YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN_

 

A knock. “Beth?”

 

“Yeah, Dad?” She turned around, watching him open her bedroom door a bit.

 

“It’s almost 6, better get ready.”

 

“All right, just a sec!”

 

He nodded with a smile before leaving, probably telling Orion the same thing.

 

She turned back to her phone, trying to type quickly.

 

_Gtg my famolys gonna see tgat nee movue_

_UGH_

_My family’s gonna see that new movie_

_I need to turn on autocorrect_

 

_LOL!_

_Enjoy the movie! And tell me about it at lunch, okay?_

 

She quickly sent a thumbs up emoji before hopping off of her bed and finding something to wear that wasn’t her pajamas.

 

* * *

 

“The book was better,” Bethany stated, almost dropping her tray down on the table in front of her, Owen seated right across as he ate his homemade sandwich.

 

“The book is always better!” he replied matter-of-factly, his mouth half full. “But did they do the book justice, or is it Percy Jackson all over again?”

 

Bethany thought a bit, before wavering her hand a bit. “Eh? I mean, a lot of my favorite scenes were cut, but I guess they weren’t too important? And the actors weren’t really how I imagined the characters, but I guess they weren’t too far off from the descriptions.”

 

Their conversation of the movie continued a few minutes longer, until Owen excitedly brought up Riley High School. “Man, I’m glad at least you’re going there, too!”

 

Bethany took a bite of her pizza (if it could even be called that) and swallowed before asking, “Do you know if anyone else is going?”

 

“Uh, I heard May Winterbourne is going? But I’m not sure.”

 

“Anyone else?”

 

Owen sat there quietly for a while, Bethany could practically hear the gears in his head turning. “I don’t know,” he finally answered.

 

Bethany frowned a bit. “Dang,” she said, not knowing how to respond without sounding too disappointed. Her parents’ divorce was already difficult on her before they got back together, being unable to see her dad very often and believing it was her fault all those years. While it no longer stressed her out now that he was back, the anxiety never really left.

 

Owen seemed to realize this. “Hey, don’t worry at least,” he said, placing his hand on hers. “You’ve got me, you’ve got your brother, we’re in this together, okay?”

 

She smiled back a little shakily. Going somewhere new was never enjoyable, but at least she had a little comfort. She nodded at him. “Yeah, okay!”

 

He smiled that dorky grin of his before pulling out his Caprisun. “And besides, there’s the open house next week, so we’ll get to see the school together!” he reminded her as he stabbed the pouch with his straw.

 

He looked up as he took a sip. “By the way, can I see your science homework? I forgot to do it.”

 

Bethany couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh my God, Owen!” She took another bite of her pizza as she reached into her backpack, searching for her science folder. For now, she’d just worry over her friend’s science grade, and if he’d actually pass.

 

* * *

 

“Bethany!”

 

She turned around with relief as she heard his voice, watching Owen as he ran up to them. Immediately she stopped biting her nails.

 

“I don’t think you properly met Orion,” she told him as he approached, motioning to her adoptive brother. “Owen, Orion. Orion, Owen. Remember him from orientation? He was in the other group.”

 

Without even looking up from his phone, Orion replied, “He’s also the kid who picked you up for your school’s Halloween dance last year, right?”

 

She blinked. She forgot about that.

 

“What even _was_ your costume?” He finally looked up, staring at Owen, his face emotionless as usual.

 

Owen scoffed. “Uh, a dementor?”

 

Orion opened his mouth, as if about to say something, before just going back to his phone.

 

“He doesn’t read Harry Potter,” Bethany explained.

 

“What?!” Owen turned to Orion, his shock clearly evident. “How have you never read one of the greatest book series of all time?!”

 

“Not all of us are interested in popular books,” he just replied calmly.

 

“Says the guy who likes Superman and Batman and Spiderman.” Bethany knew her brother wasn’t into reading anything, unless it was some comic book.

 

Orion looked up, clearly offended. Okay, she must have said something wrong if he actually bothered to show emotion. “First of all, Spiderman is Marvel, and I only read DC. Second of all, the DC Comics are masterpieces, so you can shut up.”

 

She did. She knew nothing about comic books, unlike her father and brother.

 

“Marvel is better,” Owen coughed out, trying to act as if he didn’t just say that.

 

Orion immediately pocketed his phone. “You wanna go right now?”

 

Thankfully, the ten minute warning bell rang before any fight broke out between the two boys.

 

“We’ll continue this another time,” Orion told Owen. “My class is on the other side of the campus, and I can’t waste my time on a Marvel lover like you.” He left before Owen could even reply.

 

“How could he say that when Marvel is clearly superior?” Bethany heard him mutter. She stifled her laughter.

 

“Where’s your first class?” she asked him, hoping he wouldn’t just run off after her brother. “I’ve got biology.”

 

“AP Lang. But don’t worry about it, okay?” He looked up at her, being a few inches shorter. “You’ll be fine on your own.”

 

“But—”

 

“Bethany, I’ve known you for almost three years now, why would I lie to you?”

 

“To hide the fact that you didn’t do your half of the math project?”

 

He rolled his eyes. “I mean, with stuff like this.”

 

He _was_ right. He never really lied outside of his homework, as far as she knew. “You really think I’ll be fine?”

 

“I _know_ you’ll be fine.” He smiled reassuringly. “See you at lunch?”

 

“Sure.”

 

And with that, they walked off to their very first classes. As she approached the classroom, Bethany took a deep breath, feeling her heart beginning to race.

 

_Here I go._

 

And she stepped in, her high school adventure officially starting.


	2. Old Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wanted to believe that that voice belonged to a kid who sounded too much like him, but sure enough, sitting a few seats to her left was Kiel Gnomenfoot.
> 
> Kiel Gnomenfoot actually got accepted to Riley High School.

“Jack Buckets?”

 

“Here!”

 

“Penelope Dormer?”

 

“Here!”

 

“Moira Gonzalez?”

 

“...”

 

“Okay, absent. Kiel Gnomenfoot?”

 

Charm did a double take as the teacher did attendance. Was she hearing things right? Did he really call for _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ of all people?

 

“Here!”

 

She wanted to believe that that voice belonged to a kid who sounded too much like him, but sure enough, as she turned her head, sitting a few seats to her left was Kiel Gnomenfoot.

 

_Kiel Gnomenfoot actually got accepted to Riley High School._

 

She almost missed her name being called as she tried to process this. “Here!” she responded, hoping Kiel didn’t recognize her name.

 

Unfortunately, he did. As she called out, she saw him look to her out of the corner of her eyes, smiling his stupid smile at her and winking.

 

She groaned quietly, dropping her head onto her desk. Great. And she thought she saw the last of him when she finally left Porterhouse Middle School.

 

“All right, class, before we start any lessons this year, we’ll do introductions!” the teacher announced loudly, clapping his hands together. “I’m your World History teacher, Mr. Magister! I enjoy reading and teaching, both high school level and AP. And of course, you can all probably guess my favorite subject!”

 

“Is it math?” one student called out, causing Mr. Magister to chuckle a bit.

 

“I’ll be pairing you off with a random classmate, and you’ll learn each other’s names, interests, favorite subjects in school, and a random fun fact about each other!”

 

And just Charm’s luck, she got stuck with Kiel.

 

“Excuse me, Mr. Magister?” she said, walking up to his desk. “But Kiel and I attended the same middle school.”

 

Mr. Magister’s eyes lit up. “Already friends, I see?” he asked.

 

“Well, no, but—”

 

“Do you know him well?”

 

“No, we’re just acquaintances, but–”

 

“So why don’t you get to know him, then?”

 

No matter what she said, he refused to give her another partner. So she was stuck with Kiel.

 

“Pretty cool we ended up here together, huh?” he said as she went back to their desks. He was sitting with his feet propped up on his. Did the teacher even notice?

 

She didn’t answer his question. “We already know each other’s names,” she just said. “So just give me your favorite subject, something you like, and something I don’t know about you.” Just keep it simple. They didn’t have to talk to each other for long. They could get through this without much interaction.

 

“Uh, I like P.E.? That’s a subject, right? Yeah, and I like doing basketball and watching anime, and…” He paused for a long while, thinking of a random fact. “Do you already know that I’m adopted?”

 

She shook her head.

 

“Then that’s my fun fact! How about you?”

 

“My favorite subject is science, specifically Physics. I enjoy researching new technologies and doing small engineering projects, and I wish to be a mechanical engineer when I’m older.”

 

There, done. They didn’t have to talk anymore.

 

“Whoa, that’s neat!” Did he not understand that she didn’t want to talk to him anymore? “I don’t even know what _I_ wanna be after school! How much does that pay?”

 

“We already did what Mr. Magister instructed us to do,” she informed him.

 

“Yeah, But we’ve got loads of time before we do the lesson. Can’t we just have a conversation?”

 

Charm fought the urge to rub her palm against her prosthetic leg. “What is there even to converse about?”

 

He shrugged. “Life? Classes? Movies? How amazing I am?”

 

She turned away, groaning as quietly as she could. The school didn’t do block scheduling. This was going to be a long four years.

 

* * *

 

Sharing first period with Kiel may have been a terrible discovery, but it could’ve been worse. He could’ve been in her Biology class, but thank goodness he had it another period. He also could’ve joined her in Pre-Calculus or AP Physics 1, but thankfully he wasn’t _that_ advanced in math and science. She had never been more appreciative of her higher intelligence.

 

After her Physics class came lunch. For some reason, the school only had one lunch for everyone, but she thought she could get through it quietly without interruption.

 

She was wrong.

 

“Already doing homework?” Kiel asked incredulously as he sat down next her in the courtyard.

 

She looked up from her Pre-Calc, glaring. “What do you want?” she asked, not bothering to hide her irritation.

 

He raised a brow. “Can’t a guy just talk to someone he knows?”

 

“Why don’t you just go talk to someone else?! Someone who actually cares about how ‘cool’ you are or whatever?!”

 

“Wow, cold.” But he didn’t leave. He just took a bite of… did the school cafeteria even serve actual food?

 

“Wait, do you even have anything for lunch?” he asked. He must’ve noticed she didn’t have anything out.

 

She shook her head. “I don’t have time.” What she meant was that she was using lunch time to get a headstart on her work so that she didn’t have as much to do once she got home. She could’ve just packed a sandwich like her mother told her to do, but eating lunch would waste time she could use to do her assignments.

 

Kiel didn’t seem satisfied with that, unfortunately. “Here, just have a bite.” He gave her half of his… honestly, she had no clue what the stuff was.

 

“That doesn’t look edible…” she commented, scooting away a bit.

 

He just shrugged. “I haven’t died yet, have I?”

 

She took it hesitantly, barely holding it with the tips of her fingers. Well, if it would get him to leave her alone…

 

She bit down on it, gagging immediately. But she didn’t spit it out. She forced it down her throat, regretting everything. She quickly handed the rest of her portion back to him, feeling the stuff trying to come back up. “Yeah, I’ve had my fill,” she said, trying to ignore her stomach’s churning. An empty one would’ve been better than this.

 

“You sure you don’t want more?”

 

“I’m good…”

 

She went back to her work, recalling the lesson on limits again. For a while, she was actually able to work in relative silence, almost forgetting Kiel was there.

 

“What even is that ‘lim’ thing?” he suddenly asked, looking over her shoulder.

 

“It’s short for ‘limit,’ it’s a math concept in Calculus.” She didn’t know why she bothered to answer, but she shrugged it off and continued working. She factored the trinomial in the numerator, finding that it canceled the denominator.

 

“And why’d you do that?”

 

“I’m solving for the limit as x approaches 2. I can’t substitute x with 2 right now because the denominator becomes 0, so I have to simplify the equation.”

 

“Huh. That’s cool! We don’t do anything like that in Algebra.”

 

She carefully placed her pencil down on her notebook, looking at him. “Why do you even care? Aren’t you normally too busy obsessing over yourself?”

 

Kiel frowned. “Why are you always like this?”

 

Charm blinked. “Like what?”

 

He motioned to her with his free arm. “ _This_! Even back at Porterhouse, you always push me away when I just want to be friends with you!”

 

Why would he want to be friends with someone like her? She was nothing like him; they were as opposite as night and day. “Why?”

 

“Because I think you’re pretty cool? Because I want to know you genuinely and hang out with you? Because I think I’d be more comfortable getting help with homework from someone I know?”

 

Wait, what?

 

“You want to be my friend…” she started slowly, “because you want me to assist you with your homework…?”

 

He glanced to the side, looking a bit guilty. “Kind of… but I really _do_ want to know you better. I mean, you’re taking Pre-Calc, and that’s like, senior level or something! You’re so good at math and stuff, and I think that’s super cool! Which is why I think _you’re_ super cool!” He sighed. “Besides, there’s no one else here I really know.”

 

Charm bit the inside of her cheek, mindlessly rubbing her finger against the plastic of her leg as she contemplated what he said. Finally, she sat up straighter, making up her mind. “I’m not going to call you a friend. _Yet_.” She saw the relief flood his face as she added that last word. “But I _will_ allow you to associate with me, or in your words, ‘hang out’ with me.”

 

He pumped his fist in the air. “Yes!” he quietly exclaimed.

 

She rolled her eyes, going back to her homework and finishing what she could in the remaining seven minutes. She didn’t think she’d ever end up spending more time with Kiel than she wanted, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad over time.

 

She just had to hope for that if she wanted to keep her sanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Charm has a prosthetic leg. I won't delve deep into why probably (or maybe I will in the future, who knows) but it's kind of to reference how she had robotic parts in the original series. (I will drop subtle hints about what happened, but won't outright say it.) It was originally a prosthetic arm, but when researching how they work, the more complicated functioning ones that I wanted to give her felt too expensive for her to have, so I stuck with a leg.
> 
> Also, I'm trying to portray her with high-functioning autism, which means she's on the autistic spectrum, but the symptoms aren't as extreme as someone who is lower functioning, and she can function fairly well. However, it is not an official diagnosis, and I myself am not autistic; I am going off of extensive research, and information from one of my friends diagnosed with autism for little symptoms she may portray. If anything is inaccurate, please let me know so that I can fix it! 
> 
> Update schedule will probably be every few days or so, depending on how much time I have.


	3. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She could adapt to new situations easily with a smile on her face. However, Riley High may be the most difficult change yet, and it's not because of school work.

She learned to adapt quickly, constantly being transferred from foster home to foster home. She could handle change pretty well. Though it was quite a shock when she found out her foster family in seventh grade had made the decision to adopt her. She had awaited the day she would be told she was being taken to another family, but it never happened. It was the strangest change that ever happened to her, and it took longer to adapt, but adapt she eventually did.

 

She also learned to always have a smile no matter what, whether it was to bring a light to someone’s life or to just hide her feelings. She was always determined to find the positive in any situation. Which was why she wasn’t going to just mope around because her best friend didn’t make it into Riley High while she did. She was Gwen Terran, and she didn’t let things like that ruin her life!

 

“We’ll just stay in touch, okay?” she told Wendy, who was just scrolling through her phone like the grouch she usually was.

 

Wendy just shrugged, adjusting her lunchbox so that her phone was still well-hidden. “Sure, whatever.”

 

“And we can hang out at the froyo place every weekend and catch up!”

 

“Yeah, okay.”

 

“Oh! And maybe once a month, we could–”

 

Wendy groaned. “Gwen, I am  _ trying _ to read this fanfiction, could you just shut up?”

 

Gwen blinked. Even if she was used to it by now, Wendy’s attitude always caught her by surprise. She wanted Wendy to go back to being the happy, excited fangirl she was back in fourth grade. But wishing for stuff like that wouldn’t get her anywhere. So she just smiled and nodded. “Sure. Enjoy your fanfic!”

 

Wendy didn’t reply. Typical.

 

But Gwen didn’t mind; it didn’t bother her. She didn’t  _ let _ it bother her. So that’s why she ate the rest of her lunch in silence, quietly watching Wendy’s face for that occasional smile.

 

* * *

 

After middle school, Gwen tried her hardest to make sure she and Wendy didn’t drift apart, but Wendy always seemed busy, always had some excuse why she couldn’t hang out. One month passed, but she wasn’t worried. There was still about a month and a half left of summer, plenty of time to see each other again!

 

But Wendy took longer to reply. Her responses became short, quick apologies, or just a simple “I can’t.” She never actually answered Gwen’s questions, or told her when she was ever free. Another month passed. But that wasn’t so bad! There was still half a month left, they still had a chance to hang out at least once!

 

Unfortunately, she soon found herself being left on “Read.” Everything she texted, “Read 11:56 AM.” “Read 4:03 AM.” “Read 10:37 PM.” Wendy never replied. Not even when asked how she was doing. Gwen was worried, but maybe she was just busy with back-to-school shopping or some summer project. She was probably fine. She was  _ definitely _ fine. There was no reason for her to be not fine.

 

The new school year finally came around. Gwen was a little– and only the  _ teensiest _ bit– upset that she didn’t get to spend time with her best friend over the summer, but that was fine! There was still the weekends and other breaks! Perfect opportunities to spend time together again!

 

As she rode the bus back home, she pulled out her phone, quickly texting Wendy about her day.

 

_ How about you? How was your first day at your school? I bet it was just as exciting! _

_ Text me back as soon as you can! _

 

With that, she stuck in her earbuds, listening to her Dodie Clark songs as she stared out the window, watching the world race by.

 

* * *

 

Still no response.

 

It was already 9 pm. Gwen finished the homework she was given, and she had a couple hours before she really needed to sleep. She thought Wendy would’ve replied by then. Or at least read it. There was no indication that she even saw her messages.

 

_ Hey you okay? _

_ I know you haven’t been reading my messages but _

_ Nothing is wrong right? _

_ I hope you’re okay _

 

She paused. She wouldn’t worry about Wendy for now. She had some Steven Universe to catch up on. Wendy was probably fine.

 

Four episodes later, and still no response.

 

_ I really hope you’re getting my messages at least _

_ It’s been a while since you texted back _

 

She hesitated a moment before typing again.

 

_ Are you upset with me? Did I hurt you somehow? _

_ If I did I’m sorry _

_ I didn’t mean to _

_ Wendy? _

 

Gwen sighed. Maybe Wendy would see it by the morning. She knew she always stayed up late reading her fanfictions. She had to see it then.

 

* * *

 

Not even a “read.” Wendy wasn’t talking to her. And she had no idea why.

 

She sat in bed, staring at her phone. Was Wendy too busy to see the texts? Did something happen to her? Did she do something to offend her?

 

She quickly dialed her number and brought her phone to her ear.

 

One ring.

 

Two rings.

 

_ Please pick up, please pick up… _

 

Three rings.

 

Four rings.

 

Five rings.

 

Voicemail. She tried again.

 

One ring.

 

Two rings.

 

Three rings.

 

Four rings.

 

_ Wendy, come on… _

 

Five rings.

 

Same result.

 

“Gwen, get ready, the bus comes in forty minutes!”

 

“Coming, Mom!”

 

This bothered her all morning, finding it hard to focus in her classes as one question echoed in her mind: did she just lose her best friend?

 

Maybe she could walk to her house after school and check up on her? Yeah, that seemed good. 

 

On her way from the bus stop, she did her best to compose herself. She put on her best smile and knocked, inviting her in her happiest voice to maybe have a Disney marathon over the weekend like they did all the time when they were younger.

 

“Oh my God, what are you, a preschooler? Gwen, just grow up already.”

 

That’s when she knew Wendy wasn’t the same person she first met in elementary school. Not anymore.

 

She was numb as she walked away, her words ingrained in her head. Once home, she skipped her afterschool snack and went straight to her room. She stared at her homework, unable to think. It was hours until she saw the small stain appear on her paper through her blurry vision. Was she crying?

 

No, she wasn’t. She couldn’t be. She  _ shouldn’t _ . She didn’t cry. She never cried. She was always happy. She had to be happy. She had to be positive. She had to be. She had to.

 

But she couldn’t stop. She grabbed her pillow, burying her face into it, hoping her sobs were muffled enough so her parents wouldn’t hear.

 

When she was finally done, the sun had already set. And she still hadn’t started her homework. She took a deep breath. That would be her worry for now. Not Wendy. Not those words. Besides, after all that crying, she felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders, and she was finally able to focus.

 

* * *

 

She woke up the next morning, a new resolution set. She wasn’t going to mourn the loss of her friendship. No, she was going to learn to enjoy her years of high school without Wendy.

 

When clubs were advertised during lunch all five days of the next week, she joined all the ones that interested her. Robotics Club. Environmentalist Club. Disney Club. Black Student Union. Gay-Straight Alliance. She was determined to make new friends. Friends who were more like her.

 

She was Gwen Terran, and by God, she was going to make sure high school would be four of the best years of her life, even if it meant experiencing it with completely new people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I'm not sorry for this.
> 
> Well, I am, but I wanted to explore Gwen's character a bit on how she'd probably handle feelings like this. This is probably the angstiest these one-shots will ever get, because I don't want to hurt them too badly. (There'll probably be more angst, but nothing too bad, I promise!)
> 
> Also!! I have the next one shots planned, I just need to write them!! Hope I have enough time for some more soon!


	4. Subtle and Perfect and Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If only Kiel could tell her, tell her everything he sees. If he could tell her how she's everything to him.

The school year was starting off quite well. Sure, Charm hated him at first, but he could tell she was warming up to him. Though she probably wouldn’t admit it if you asked her.

 

At least she set aside some of her lunch time to explain some of the Algebra concepts he couldn’t understand. She wasn’t the nicest teacher, but hey, at least she made sense. More sense than the teacher, that’s for sure.

 

Besides, there was more to school than just his classes. Soccer and basketball tryouts were coming soon, which he was 110% sure he would make it; he was Kiel Gnomenfoot, after all! And the Anime Club at Riley High actually showed pretty good animes compared to Porterhouse, so Thursdays after school was practically heaven! He honestly didn’t think high school could be better than this.

 

English class changed his mind.

 

He never cared much for English. Especially since they were currently doing Greek mythology, and unless it was Percy Jackson, most Greek myths weirded him out.

 

Not to mention they were already practicing essay writing. Definitely not one of his strong suits in school.

 

Luckily, the teacher had decided that the class would practice with a partner for a week. Kiel happened to end up with a redhead girl. He found her quite cute, honestly. Plus she was nice, so he immediately liked her. He just didn’t realize how  _ much _ he’d like her.

 

And he meant  _ like _ .

 

She seemed a little nervous, sure, but she was incredibly smart. As they analyzed the Greek creation myth together, she pointed out little things most other students seemed to miss. She was quite an analytical thinker.

 

And it wasn’t just her brain he fell for. She had bright eyes that lit up whenever she got excited about whatever literary work the teacher said they would do. She had an almost half smile on her face as she read her books, whether assigned for class or just for fun, a smile that made him feel wonderful! And the way she mindlessly doodled at the edges of her notes, sometimes stars, sometimes birds, all of them beautiful.

 

He couldn’t think of anyone more perfect than Bethany Sanderson.

 

(Sure, there were his crushes from middle school when he thought the same thing, but they never lasted long.)

 

He wanted to know her more. But how? He never actually  _ flirted _ before. He needed help.

 

“Kiel Gnomenfoot, you are literally the dumbest boy I have ever met.” Charm gave him her disappointed glare as he told her his dilemma, nothing he wasn’t used to.

 

He didn’t take any offense, however. He just winked with a smile, like he always did. “Thank you!” Charm wasn’t one to compliment people, so that’s why he just learned to accept her insults as something positive. Besides, she didn’t actually mean it.

 

Probably.

 

“No, I’m being serious. You boast about yourself almost twenty-four seven to  _ everyone _ you meet, and the moment you have a crush, you don’t know what to say.” She crossed her arms. “Honestly, what is it about this person that you can’t just do what you normally do?”

 

“She’s just…  _ her _ !” It was a dumb response, yeah, but he had no idea to describe the amazingness of this person, how she made him feel better about himself, and not in a way that put her down; she practically lifted him up with her.

 

Charm clearly didn’t understand, judging from the way she rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, why don’t you just talk to her?”

 

Oh. Why didn’t he think of that before?

 

(He’s spoken to her before. Just not about anything except their essays.)

 

Next English class, he heeded Charm’s advice. He was just going to talk to her. Yeah. Talk to her. He could do that; he  _ was  _ Kiel Gnomenfoot after all!

 

“So how are you liking Riley High?” he asked her as casually as he could after they finished their essay early. Just keep the conversation simple. Start with small talk. He could start flirting once they knew each other at least a little better.

 

She shrugged. “Not as bad as I initially thought,” she replied.

 

“Tell me about it,” he said in response, hoping to keep the conversation going. “I didn’t know what to expect when I first got here. Hardly anyone at my school got accepted, and I only knew like, one person.”

 

She smiled at that, before laughing a bit. An adorable laugh! “It’s kind of funny with me. I was so scared coming here on the first day of school honestly, I don’t even remember why! A part of me kept saying I was gonna die. My best friend had to assure me that I was okay!”

 

Kiel smiled. “We’re all scared of a new adventure!” he told her. “You just gotta learn to brave it with a smile!” And wink. Can’t forget his signature wink.

 

She stared at him for a moment, her expression unreadable. Oh God. The wink was too much. He shouldn’t have done that.

 

But she just laughed and rolled her eyes. “You sound like some story protagonist or something, or just some character in a fantasy novel!”

 

He couldn’t help but wink again. “Well, what can I say?”

 

“You’re weird.”

 

“I know.”

 

He had to say that they hit it off pretty well. Talking to her became easier with each class.

 

He did try flirting, but she didn’t seem to get the hint. That was okay; he liked a challenge.

 

(Then again, his flirting wasn’t that much different from how he normally spoke. Even  _ he _ wasn’t sure when he was flirting or just talking.)

 

Pretty soon, he invited her to eat with him and Charm at lunch. She brought along her friend and brother to join them, but he really didn’t mind. The more, the merrier!

 

(Charm didn’t seem to agree. She was never that much of a people person.)

 

Personally, Kiel actually  _ liked _ that she brought them over. He did always want to be part of a friend group, and getting to know Owen and Orion, as he soon learned they were called, was just as good as getting to know Bethany; he could see parts of her in them, and parts of them in her.

 

As their friendships grew, he only hoped he and Charm could have the same effect on the other three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: How many DEH references can this idiot make in one chapter before you guys get tired?
> 
> Sorry that this is a little short, I struggled getting a grasp on Kiel's personality for some reason. Also forgive the cheesy ending and crap, I really needed them to become friends for more one-shot opportunities.
> 
> Gwen will NOT YET be joining them next chapter, but she will soon, I promise!
> 
> Also just saying this as a heads up: Kara doesn't join their friend group until they start sophomore year, sorry :(


	5. Room For More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bethany forces Orion to bond more with Owen and Kiel.

It was all Owen’s idea.

 

Well, it was partially Bethany’s. And a little bit Kiel’s. But at least 97% of it was Owen.

 

He just wanted to spend a quiet weekend in his room, finishing homework and rewatching seasons 2 and 3 of _Teen Titans_.

 

(Not _Teen Titans Go_. He wouldn’t touch that show with a 50-foot pole.)

 

But of course, he couldn’t.

 

“Come _on_ , Orion, just go with them!” his sister said once he shut down the idea.

 

“Why aren’t _you_ going?” he asked, not bothering to look at her from his Green Lantern comic. “Owen’s your best friend, isn’t he?”

 

“Yeah, but you never spend time with Owen except when you’re with me. And you barely even talk to him!”

 

“And what about Kiel? You don’t know him that well!”

 

He could practically hear her roll her eyes. “We have English together. Besides, there’s always another time.”

 

She sighed. “Come on, you always hang out with us at lunch, but you never engage. Can’t you at _least_ get to know them while you’re out?”

 

“One, I still never said I’m doing this. Two, being trapped in a small room in an indefinite amount of time is not my ideal way of getting to know someone.”

 

“It’s an escape room, not a prison cell.”

 

“What’s the difference?”

 

She groaned, muttering something under her breath.

 

“Look, will you just go? Just once?”

 

He looked up, raising a brow. “Will you leave me alone if I do?”

 

She nodded. “Promise.” She drew an ‘X’ over her heart with her finger, her other hand held up.

 

He grunted, sitting up on the bed and walking over to his closet. “Fine, but if I hate it, I’m reconsidering where I hang out at lunch when the track coach has nothing to say.” He grabbed a red shirt, three purple stars on the chest; his lucky shirt.

 

“And if you _don’t_ hate it, you aren’t allowed to beat either of them up under any circumstances.”

 

He shot her a glare, his sister only innocently smiling back. “I hate you.”

 

“Love ya, too!”

 

She left his room, the door closing loudly.

 

He sighed, grudgingly putting on his shirt and jeans. He never understood why he even agreed to this stuff; he was probably going to regret it, anyway. Shoving his feet into his sneakers, he rubbed his thumb against his shirt’s fabric. Hopefully it had enough luck to survive this outing.

 

* * *

 

“You guys ever done one before?” Owen asked, hopping out the car door.

 

Orion shook his head, stepping out as well.

 

“It’s my first time, too,” Kiel said, walking around the car to meet up with the other two boys. “I thought they were only in video games or something!”

 

Owen smiled. “Yeah, they’re apparently all over the country in real life. My mom and I did one on my thirteenth birthday. Oh!” He turned to the car, looking through the open car window. “Thanks for the ride, Mom!”

 

“Thanks, Ms. Conners!”

 

“Thank you for the ride.”

 

She smiled at the three. “Have fun, boys! And Owen, call me when you’re done, okay?”

 

“I will! Bye!”

 

She waved, then rolled the window back up before driving away. She had barely left their sights when Owen turned to the building, grinning ear-to-ear. “You guys ready?”

 

Kiel pumped his fist excitedly in the air. “Heck yeah!”

 

Orion said nothing. He just quietly rubbed his shirt, wondering if he was being dumb for trusting that an inanimate object would help him get through this.

 

* * *

 

“The code is 3548.”

 

“How’d you figure that out?!”

 

Orion pointed to the grid on the wall, filled with arrows pointing in different directions, some spaces with numbers next to the arrows. “I just followed the maze. You needed a 4-digit combo for the lock, and I went through for numbers.”

 

Owen smiled, the lock clicking open. “I am _so_ glad I invited you!” he said, grabbing a piece of paper from the cabinet. “You’re like some detective or something!”

 

Orion had to admit, it was a lot more fun than he expected. Solving seemingly random puzzles that eventually proved to be connected to each other made him feel like he was solving some sort of mystery or crime like his favorite heroes. Not to mention the theme of the room was to defuse the mad scientist’s bomb before it blew up.

 

(At least it wouldn’t actually blow up, but he had to admit it was a little disappointing to know that it wasn’t as terrifying.)

 

Owen handed the paper to Kiel, Orion wandering around for more possible puzzles. “This has the star!” he heard him exclaim. “We only have one more clue to complete the sequence to defuse the bomb!”

 

“So we have the star… triangle… square… circle…” Owen muttered, reviewing the instructions they had found. “We just need the pentagon, and we can complete this thing!”

 

If he wanted to find the last clue, he needed to think like some of his favorite heroes, those who used their wits to defeat the villains. Orion looked under the table for the fourth time. Nothing new still. What else did he expect? He stood up, walking over to the– wait… what was that?

 

“Owen, hand me the darklight again.”

 

“Sure thing!”

 

The moment he felt it in the palm of his hand, he immediately switched it on, the dark underneath lit up. In glowing letters, it read, “NEWS SWEN EWES.”

 

“‘News swen ewes?’” he asked out loud.

 

“Where the heck do we find a newspaper, swan, or sheep in here?”

 

Orion stood up, thinking. It had to mean something. Or maybe they weren’t words? He watched Kiel and Owen wander the room, searching every nook and cranny for… something. He observed as Kiel looked behind the bomb, a light on it still flashing a threatening red. He eyed the area around the bomb, checking if they missed something.

 

“Kiel,” he suddenly spoke up, startling the one he addressed. “Check if there are any cabinets underneath the bomb.”

 

“But there’s nothing he– oh. Huh.” As he pushed a hidden door open, the bomb emitted smoke once again, the scent of cotton candy permeating the room for  (what felt like) the hundredth time. As the smoke faded, Kiel stood up, a locked chest in hand. With the disappearing fog effect, it looked almost dramatic.

 

Kiel grabbed the lock, examining it for a moment, before declaring to the other two, “It’s one of those directional locks!”

 

Feeling the excitement rise up, Orion knelt back down, aiming the darklight at the bottom of the table. “North, east, west, south, south, west, east, north, east, west, east, south,” he relayed without hesitation.

 

A few seconds later, the three boys heard a click. Kiel grabbed the paper out from inside, almost tearing it in the process. “Done!”

 

Owen grabbed the other four clues, and the boys immediately rushed to the bomb, trying to make sense of the instructions.

 

“Connect red A to blue B, connect yellow A to orange B–”

 

“How do you know that’s first?”

 

“It’s under the circle, so it should be in order by number of sides, right?”

 

Orion glanced at the timer on the wall. 17:38. They still had time. But the gamemaster had said any wrong action done to the bomb would cause their time to run down faster. They couldn’t afford any mistakes.

 

He took a deep breath, looking for clues on the bomb. While Owen’s logic made sense, they had to be sure first. Trying to defuse it blindly would hurt them.

 

“It’s pentagon, star, triangle, circle, square,” he suddenly said aloud, looking at the numbers graffitied on the side of the bomb.

 

Both boys turned to him, confused. “Huh?”

 

“The numbers here should indicate the number of sides, and if it is, the order we go through is pentagon, star, triangle, circle, square.

 

Once they caught a glimpse of the 5-10-3-1-4, they immediately set to work, hurrying to the different sides of the bomb exposed to them, each taking the set of instructions needed. “So that’s what that was for,” Orion heard Owen mutter, doing his part.

 

“Done with pentagon!”

 

“Done with star!”

 

“Done with triangle!”

 

Another glance at the timer. 15:03. Not so bad. They could do this.

 

A loud alarm, the bomb releasing more smoke.

 

“Sorry, the red and orange wires look too similar!” Owen yelled over the alarm.

 

Orion looked to the timer again. It was going down twice as fast now. 14:47 to 14:41. In only three seconds.

 

He shook his head, rubbing his shirt to calm his nerves. They still had time. Not as much time, but there was still time. “We’re gonna have to start over! Kiel, start with the pentagon again!”

 

His hands were shaky as he punched into the keypad a second time, the adrenaline beginning to get to him. He had to remain calm. Remain calm. Remain calm.

 

Easier said than done when they got to circle. He bit the inside of his cheek, anticipating Owen to screw this up a second time. He didn’t know if Owen was taking way too long, or it was just his perception of time. He glanced at the timer.

 

9:12.

 

“Done with circle!”

 

He sighed with relief. Owen did it. All that was left was for Kiel to push on the right buttons, and they could be free.

 

“Done with square!”

 

“Push the button!”

 

All three of them rushed, their hands slamming into each other as they pressed it together.

 

The smoke immediately stopped along with the timer. 8:01. They made it!

 

“Yeah, all right!”

 

“This calls for celebratory ice cream!”

 

* * *

 

With pride, he licked his vanilla scoop, listening to Kiel and Owen excitedly talking about the experience.

 

“Oh man, that thing where we had to use those wires to pick up the keys through the glass, that was so hard!”

 

“When the smoke would just come from the bomb, that was super cool!”

 

“Not as cool as the bomb itself! That thing looked so real!”

 

“Dude, when you messed up, you scared the heck out of me, I thought we wouldn’t make it!”

 

“And Orion?”

 

He looked up at the mention of his name.

 

“You were awesome back there!”

 

He blinked, a little surprised by the compliment. “I was?” he asked.

 

Both boys nodded, Owen grinning with chocolatey lips.

 

“You solved most of those puzzles so easily!” Kiel exclaimed, his smile filled with mint. “You’re like, as smart as Charm or something! Hey, we should do another one some time with Beth and Charm!”

 

“You are so right.”

 

As they started to plan their next escape room, Orion felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone, reading his sister’s text.

 

_So how was it?_

 

He considered lying, saying that it wasn’t his thing. But with Owen and Kiel, his bluff would’ve been called out soon. So he replied with the truth.

 

_Not as bad as i thought_

_Kinda fun actually_

 

_I knew youd like it!_

_Also now its illegal for you to beat them up for anything_

 

_Fine_

_Whatever_

 

As he put the phone away, he looked down at the three purple stars on his chest.

 

Guess his shirt still had some luck after all this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by the first escape room I ever did. It was fun.
> 
> I wrote this because Orion needs to start bonding with the group more lol.
> 
> Also this is officially the longest one-shot I wrote, this one about 2000 words while the others were around 1000. Dang.


	6. Study Buddies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bethany is struggling in Biology. Thankfully, someone else struggling is willing to study with her.

“Ugh!”

 

Bethany smacked her head into the desk upon receiving her quiz back. Another D. At this rate, the chemistry chapter of biology would be the reason she failed. No matter how much they tried to help, Charm, Kiel, Owen, nor Orion could explain carbohydrates or carbon bonding or carbon whatever. Stupid carbon. How did they manage to even get B’s and high C’s?

 

“This class kicking your butt, too?”

 

She looked up.

 

The girl next to her was talking, giving her a sympathetic smile. She wore several bracelets on her arms adorned with many charms, and the toes of her converse boots were covered in doodles of stars and planets.

 

Bethany laughed a bit. “Yeah. Why are we even learning  _ chemistry _ in a  _ biology _ class? I thought this school made us take Chem in sophomore, not freshman!”

 

The girl smiled brighter, which was kind of cute. “It’s honestly really weird!” she agreed. She suddenly gasped, her eyes lighting up. “We should totally study together at the media center! The test is about a week away, and we can help each other!”

 

Bethany smiled at the thought. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I really need some help in this class besides this chapter, anyway.”

 

The girl nodded, then held out a hand. “I’m Gwen, by the way.”

 

Bethany shook it. “Bethany.”

 

At the end of the class, after the teacher had gone over the answers for the quiz, Bethany asked Gwen, “Could we start our study sessions today at lunch? I really want to get started as soon as possible, and I don’t want to bomb this test.”

 

“Of course!” Gwen stuffed her Biology textbook in her pin-covered galaxy print backpack and stood up. Wow, she was short! “How often do you wanna do this?”

 

“Everyday until the test? I need all the help I can get.” If she wanted to pass, Bethany really needed  _ a lot _ of studying. Even if Gwen wasn’t exactly passing this chapter, working together to figure it out sounded like a good idea. Besides, they’d both be benefiting!

 

“Well, I can’t do Friday, I’ve got an important club meeting then, but lunch every other day besides then would work! Maybe Friday, we can do after school?”

 

Bethany nodded. “Yeah, that works for me! Just gotta let my parents know about Friday!”

 

“Yay!” Gwen was practically bouncing as they walked out of the classroom together. “See you at lunch, then! Bye, Bethany!”

 

Bethany waved back as she walked away, heading to English.

 

* * *

 

She had to let Kiel know during English class that she wouldn’t be joining them for lunch for the week so that she could get to the media center as soon as possible. She was glad that he was understanding, and she was pretty sure that the others would be, too. She wasn’t sure about Orion, but he would probably be at some track meeting most of the time.

 

After buying lunch from the cafeteria, she entered the media center, some number of students already there. Some were just playing games on the computer, others were reading books, whether they were textbooks or just some novel.

 

She scanned the room for Gwen, hoping she’d be there. What if she wasn’t? What if it was just a prank to make her look stupid, standing in the middle of the media center?

 

“Bethany!”

 

She turned at the sound of someone whisper-screaming her name. Gwen was at a table a little farther down, waving her hand like crazy. She smiled at the sight, making her way over and sitting down right in front of her. She really needed to stop listening to her anxiety. As she pulled out her textbook, she noticed Gwen already had several books in front of her on the topic they were studying.

 

“While waiting for you, I asked for some books on what we needed to learn. Apparently, these books have been the most useful in helping other students when it came to all that chemistry stuff in bio!”

 

Bethany sighed with relief. “Glad to know we aren’t the only ones struggling!”

 

And Gwen was right, they  _ were _ useful. The books explained the concepts in a way that was easy to understand and remember, along with providing several examples that made crystal clear sense. By Friday, she felt she could get at least a B on that test, if not an A.

 

Friday afternoon, she and Gwen decided to make flashcards to study on Monday and Tuesday at lunch, both girls finding that they didn’t need to refer back to the books and their textbook too often. After covering all the concepts they needed, they transferred the cards into a Quizlet, for both of them to study on their own over the weekend.

 

After an hour, they headed out, Gwen with half of their cards and Bethany with the other half. Before they reached the car line, where few parents waited for their kids to finish afterschool activities, Gwen suddenly spoke up. “Hey, could I give you my number? I’d like to just chat a bit with you about not school stuff, y’know? Maybe over the weekend?”

 

“Sure!”

 

They quickly exchanged numbers, said their goodbyes, and left, Gwen taking the activities bus home and Bethany riding back home with her mom.

 

* * *

 

Over the weekend, Bethany and Gwen got to know each other a bit, texting about hobbies and interests, learning random facts about each other. It soon felt as if Gwen was more than just a study partner and more of a long-time friend, even if they only just met a few days ago.

 

Studying Monday and Tuesday felt a lot more casual after, and after their test, which Bethany was confident she got at least an 89, she decided to invite Gwen to eat with her and her friends during lunch. She certainly seemed a bit too excited at the invitation, but she really didn’t mind; she enjoyed Gwen’s enthusiasm.

 

The others definitely took a liking to Gwen when she came, her optimism a little infectious. (Even Charm didn’t seem to mind her presence.) Pretty soon, she was already part of their little friend group, everyone silently agreeing that she definitely belonged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s short, I know, and is more of a filler, really, but I needed some way to get Gwen into their friend group.
> 
> Also, I’m going to be trying something next chapter that I hope you guys will like!


	7. Group Chat I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Texting.

_ You started a group chat. _

 

**_You_ **

_ Is everyone here? _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Yeah theres six people in the chat _

 

**_Unknown_ **

_ im here ;) _

_ wait idk who anyone is :/ _

 

**_Unknown_ **

_ Hi! _

 

**_You_ **

_ Everyone just type your name into the chat and then we can figure this out. _

_ Owen. _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Bethany _

 

**_Unknown_ **

_ kiel ;) _

 

**_Unknown_ **

_ Charm. _

 

**_Unknown_ **

_ Gwen _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Wait hold on gotta grt all this _

_ Get*** _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Done! _

 

**_You_ **

_ Same! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ wheres orion _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ I was about to type that! :P _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Track _

_ Hell be out soon i think _

_ He’ll*** _

 

**_You_ **

_ Bethany, no swearing in my good Christian group chat! _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ YOURE JEWISH _

_ AND I JUST DONT HAVE AUTOCORRECT ON _

_ ASSUNE ANY TIME I SAY HELL I MEAN HE’LL _

_ Assume*** _

 

**_You_ ** _ named the conversation “My Good Christian Group Chat”. _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ OWEN _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ omg u two lol xD _

_ also charms probably not gonna talk a lot here shes not big on group chats _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ You don’t have to say that for me. _

_ I’ll only text if I really need to, but I’m usually preoccupied with work. _

 

**_You_ **

_ But then like… _

_ You won’t ever talk. _

_ This is just so we can talk outside of school and hang out and stuff. _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Omg we all should go do something this weekend! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ agree _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ How about that froyo place? _

_ I wanted to go over the summer but I never got the chance _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Ooh _

_ Didnt that open earlier this year? _

_ I heard its really good! _

 

**_You_ **

_ We should definitely go! _

_ Haven’t had froyo in a long time! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ i have a game in the morning but im down for froyo after _

_ good way to cool down lol _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ Is frozen yogurt good? I’ve never tried it. _

 

**_You_ **

_ WHAT?! _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ WGAT _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ How?!?!?!?!?!?!?! _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ What*** _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ its because shes no fun _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ Kiel Gnomenfoot, I swear I will punch you in the face when I see you tomorrow. _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ :( _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ I just don’t have that much time for leisurely activities, I have studying to do, and I have to help my mom with a multitude of errands. _

_ How else am I going to get into a good college? _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Dont colleges look for other stuff too? _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ I know. I do extracurriculars as well. _

_ I’ve joined clubs at school, and I’ve been taking violin lessons for eight years now. _

_ I have it all planned out. _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Just join us Charm! It’ll be fun! _

_ Plus you need a break _

_ I don’t think all this work is good for you _

 

**_You_ **

_ Yeah! Join us, Charm! _

_ Join us! _

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ join us _

_ join us _

_ join us _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ joun us _

_ join us _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ join us _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Join us! _

_ Jon us! _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Guys why _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ join us _

_ join us _

_ join us _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ join us _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ join us _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ join us _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ join us _

_ join ud  _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Join us! _

_ Join us! _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Guys please _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ joim us _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Join us! _

_ Join us! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ join us _

_ join us _

_ jion us _

 

**_You_ **

_ Join us! _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS! _

_ I LEAVE FOR A FEW MINUTES TO DO SOMETHING, AND NOW I HAVE ABOUT 50 MESSAGES! _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ I swear i wasnt a part of this _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ I can see that. _

_ You’re the only one I respect now, Bethany. _

_ And Kiel, don’t you think I forgot about my threat for tomorrow, I WILL punch you the moment I lay my eyes on you. _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ :’(((( _

_ charm _

_ charm why _

 

**_Unknown_ **

_ Oh my god why do I have 114 notifications _

_ Who are you guys _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Theres Orion  _

_ Ill send you the contact info later bro _

 

**_You_ **

_ It’s Owen here! _

_ We’re thinking of having froyo over the weekend, wanna join? _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ I never agreed to that. _

 

**_You_ **

_ Okay, both of you? _

 

**_Orion_ **

_ What time _

 

**_You_ **

_ Is 3 on Saturday fine? _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ works for me ;) _

 

**_Bethany_ **

_ Orion and i should be free then _

_ Ya _

 

**_Orion_ **

_ Yeah i am _

 

**_Charm_ **

_ 3 is fine, I guess. Just need to let my mom know. _

 

**_Gwen_ **

_ Yay!! _

 

**_You_ **

_ I take it that you’re in, Gwen. _

_ See you guys, then! _

 

**_Kiel_ **

_ Cool :) _

 

**_Orion_ **

_ Who named this chat _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to try something like this because I'm thinking of doing chapters like this every once in a while. Just for fun.


	8. A Break In the System

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excuse me, but Charm Mentum is absolutely fine, thank you very much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually know what happens in a Robotics club. I used what I could find through the internet, and what I remember from the book Ungifted. If I got it wrong, sorry.

“Charm, are you okay?”

 

Charm just grunted, taking her seat. “I’m fine,” she grumbled. So what if she’d been getting only two hours of sleep a night this week? She was still functioning fairly normal, even if her focus was hard to keep all day.

 

“But you look terrible! I mean, not  _ terrible _ , since you didn’t look  _ too  _ bad these past few days, and you still don’t, but you don’t look fine, and you seemed so busy at lunch…”

 

“Gwen, just shut up, I’m okay, end of story.”

 

The other girl only blinked, before facing forward in her seat. Thank goodness. So what if she felt like face planting into her desk and succumbing into sleep that she definitely did  _ not  _ need? What business was it of Gwen to make sure she was okay? Her health was  _ her _ health.

 

And she was perfectly healthy, thank you very much.

 

Even though the lesson was difficult to follow. But that probably had nothing to do with the little food and meals she provided herself for the past week. So what if her stomach ached and growled for at least some nutrients? She could go through the next two days without it, no big deal.

 

Her grades, especially in math and Physics, mattered way more than her body. She couldn’t get into a good college or university if she slacked on her grade. So what if she could feel her health literally deteriorating with each passing minute as the day went on? Some mucus in her throat wasn’t  _ that  _ bad of a tradeoff for an astounding grade.

 

As she felt herself lose focus on the lecture of  _ Medea _ , she began to rub the plastic of her prosthetic leg, trying to make herself pay attention. But she seemed to put too much energy into  _ trying  _ to pay attention rather than  _ actually  _ paying attention. Her eye was struggling to focus on what was on the board. It couldn’t have anything to do with her working overtime on her homework; that was important! So what if her brain was having trouble processing anything that day? She’d get over it! It totally had nothing to do with her schedule.

 

“Are you  _ sure  _ you’re okay?” Gwen asked again at the end of class as they all got ready to head to their final class of the day. “Your handwriting is unreadable!”

 

“My handwriting is always messy, I write fast.”

 

“No, I mean, it’s literally scribbles right now!”

 

Charm looked down at her notes. It was true, she couldn’t even make out what words she was originally writing. But she’d figure it out. It couldn’t be so hard. So what if she was almost half asleep when writing them? No big deal, she always had to read her terrible handwriting, so this wouldn’t be so different.

 

She went on to her next class, determined to finish the day despite how she felt.

 

It was more difficult than she expected, unfortunately. PE was now a lot more strenuous; she could barely jog one lap around the gym without the feeling that she needed to throw up. The teacher  _ did  _ offer to have one of the other students take her to the nurse, probably from the way she looked, but she refused. So what if she didn’t feel well when exercising? It was probably just because she wasn’t that fit; they  _ were  _ in a classroom the past few days for some health related stuff, and they hadn’t done any physical activity during that time period. Besides, the only one who volunteered to go bring her was Phillip Prince, and he was  _ way  _ too perfect for her liking.

 

The teacher still had her sit out anyway, since she refused to see a nurse.

 

With the upset feeling in her stomach, despite not doing much, she made her way to the classroom where the Robotics Club met. They had a meeting today, and they were working on their robot for the next competition.

 

One important fact she unfortunately forgot was that Gwen was also part of the Robotics Club.

 

“Oh my gosh, Charm, you are  _ not  _ okay,” Gwen stated the moment she saw her.

 

“Gwen, we went over this in sixth period. I. Am. Fine.” She placed down her stuff, preparing herself for work. She was one of the students in charge of working on the programming of the robot while the others worked on building it. They already had the design planned out, so she knew what it was possibly capable of and what it was meant to do.

 

The teacher in charge of managing the club gave them a few words, then they set to work. Her fingers immediately flew, entering in the coding needed to make this robot work.

 

Except she couldn’t really remember how to do it. She kept typing and deleting her code, unsure if she was entering the commands in correctly. The other students pointed out all her errors, which were definitely too many for someone like her to make. She couldn’t help but swear with each mistake.

 

But it definitely wasn’t from neglecting her health these past few days. So what if she was so out of it that day? It couldn’t have been due to how busy she made herself. She was always like that, she was pretty sure.

 

But she just kept messing up. In frustration, she grabbed her backpack and stormed out the room, stumbling down the hall to get out and just walk home early.

 

“Charm, wait!!”

 

She groaned.

 

“For the last time, Gwen, I’m  _ fin _ —”

 

Her foot stumbled onto her prosthetic leg, and she fell before she could finish her sentence.

 

Gwen was immediately by her side. “Are you okay?”

 

Pushing herself up, her exhaustion finally caught up to her. She was starving. She was fatigued. Her head ached. Her throat was in pain. 

 

She was  _ not  _ fine. 

 

“I’m… tired,” she managed to say, shakily standing up with Gwen’s assistance.

 

Gwen laughed a bit. “Well, I’m glad you  _ finally  _ noticed, even if you had to trip. Guess you could say it was your downfall?”

 

Charm was too exhausted to process the joke.

 

“The activity bus comes in about fifteen minutes. You’re coming home with me.”

 

Yeah, okay. That sounded good. Not that she really cared anymore.

 

“You’re gonna eat a good meal and you’re gonna sleep, and you’re not gonna do any of your assignments for more than an hour. Not even if you’re not finished.”

 

She sounded so affirmative. Charm wanted to argue, but she didn’t have it in her.

 

“Just… let me call my mom,” she requested softly, her eyelids heavy.

 

“Sure! Of course!”

 

She pulled out her phone, listening to it ring. Each ring seemed longer than the last, inviting her to close her eyes. She fell asleep in Gwen’s arms before her mother even picked up the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When this chapter may or may not be inspired by real life events.
> 
> Also, I probably won't be able to update again until next week, due to stuff planned for the rest of my Thanksgiving break. And also homework I should be working on, lol.


	9. Astounded and Nonplussed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owen and Charm sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite the chapter title, I did not put any references to the Mean Girl musical, unlike the fourth chapter, where the title was also a reference to a musical with other references to that musical.

He only just realized it. He finally understood why he felt this way around her.

 

He had a crush on Charm.

 

He wasn’t sure when or how it started. But he knew he really started liking her.

 

She had passion, for one thing. Even if she wasn’t good at it, like Spanish, she always did her best. (Though she  _ did  _ have a habit of giving up easily at times. Not that he could blame her.)

 

However, her passion shone through her math and Physics work. He knew she was smart— maybe smarter than smart— and she wasn’t afraid to show it. She constantly worked through her problems, solving them with almost complete ease. Honestly, her diligence and determination were  _ amazing _ . 

 

And she wasn’t just smart; she was pretty, too. Her eyes were fierce as she focused, an intense gaze that fascinated him. Her hair was usually tied up, but some strands would hang loose by her face, which added some sort of charm. (He snickered at the unintentional pun.) And he could care less about her prosthetic leg; just because it wasn’t real didn’t mean she was broken. She was fine the way she was. And her silver-ish eye only added to that, making the color of her right eye stand out more.

 

“What does Charm like?” he randomly asked Kiel one day in their Bio class. He hoped it didn’t sound weird; the last thing he wanted to seem like (especially to Charm) was a weirdo. Or a freak. Or even a loser.

 

Kiel only shrugged. “Maths? Physics stuff? I dunno, dude, we may have gone to the same middle school, but she’s like… I really don’t know.”

 

Dang. This was going to be harder than he thought.

 

“Why’d you even want to know?”

 

Owen just quickly pulled back to his desk. “Nothing, just curious,” he replied quickly, trying to act as unsuspicious as possible.

 

“Oh my God, don’t tell me.” Kiel was smirking. This wasn’t good. “You have a crush on her!” He winked teasingly.

 

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. He could feel himself turning red. “No, I-I don’t! I was just asking! What’s wrong with asking about my friends?!”

 

“You have a crush~!”

 

“ _ I don’t!!! _ ”

 

“Owen’s got a crush~!”

 

“ _ Kiel, shut up!!! _ ”

 

“Owen and Charm, sitting in a tree! K-I-S–”

 

“Owen, Kiel.” The teacher cleared her throat, the rest of the class turning to the two in the back.

 

Welp. This was more humiliating that Kiel’s teasing.

 

“Do you two have anything you’d like to share with the class? It must be more important than the lesson.”

 

Owen quickly shook his head. No, definitely not something he’d like to share.

 

Kiel shook his head as well. “No, ma’am,” he added.

 

The teacher stared at them a moment longer, then returned back to the lesson. But that didn’t stop Kiel from smirking.

 

Embarrassed, Owen hid his face on his arms into the desk. Seventh period couldn’t end soon enough.

 

* * *

 

After ages, the bell finally rang, and Owen could finally escape. He rushed to the car line, looking for Bethany, or even better Mrs. Sanderson’s car, to escape Kiel’s teasing. He knew from previous carpooling experiences that Bethany’s mom did not show up until at least fifteen minutes after the school bell, but that didn’t stop him from hoping.

 

Too bad that hope wasn’t enough, because she was nowhere in sight.

 

“I’m surprised you like her, you know,” Kiel said from behind him, startling him. “I honestly didn’t see that coming! What would we call you guys, Chowen?”

 

“Could you cut that out?!” he hissed, feeling the blush rise up again in his face.

 

“Okay, but all jokes aside, why don’t you just talk to her?”

 

Owen blinked. “I— what?”

 

Kiel just shrugged. “Hey, that’s the advice someone gave me for  _ my _ crush. And I’d say it worked out pretty well!” He smiled at him. “Come on, I know you can do it!”

 

Unconsciously, Owen fidgeted with the helm of his shirt. “But… what would I even talk about with her?”

 

“Start simple, ask her how she’s doing, how her classes are, the basics and all that. And maybe add a wink.” He gave a demonstration. “It could add to your  _ charm _ , eh??”

 

“You are by far the worst person ever.”

 

“It wasn’t  _ that _ bad! Besides, it’s so easy to come up with puns for her name!”

 

A car honk. Both boys turned to the source of the sound. “My moms are here. Better get going.” He winked once more as he walked off. “Good luck with her, dude!”

 

Watching as the car drove away, Owen contemplated Kiel’s advice.

 

Would talking to someone like Charm really be that simple? A quick second of mulling it over led to the conclusion that no, it most likely wasn’t.

 

But maybe it would be easier once he got to know her better. Yeah, that sounded good. He wouldn’t try to lead her on just yet. He had to wait until they were both more comfortable with each other. He could do that.

 

He scanned the car line for Bethany, deciding to just talk with her instead, when he realized something.

 

_ Wait, Kiel has a crush, too??? _

 

After today, there had to be something he could do with that information to get back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, but I wanted to write something funny and humorous!
> 
> Also, why does Kiel have two moms? I don't know, it just happened and I just went "Okay, then."
> 
> Updates may be slower due to school and other stuff going on with my life! Thank you for your patience!


	10. Partners in Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, as great as he is, even Kiel Gnomenfoot needs a little help every now and then.

He went too far. Now he was paying the price.

 

Kiel knew he couldn’t stop Owen on his own; the boy was much too powerful! He needed help. Help from someone he could trust. Someone Owen would never expect.

 

“Gwen, you’re the only one I can trust with this.”

 

She looked up at him with concern as he approached her quickly before they made it to their usual eating spot. “Kiel? Are you okay?”

 

He shook his head. “I, uh, may have made fun of Owen for having a crush on Ch… er, a person, and I accidentally told him that I had a crush, and now he’s been dropping hints about it around everyone.”

 

She perked up a bit. “Oh, that’s what that is! I just thought he was being weird and all!”

 

How could she be laughing at a time like this?! He gripped her shoulders tightly. “Gwen, this is serious! I need to get back at Owen, and you’re the only one who can help me because no one would ever think that you’d do anything even a little bit evil!”

 

She put her hand to her chin, thinking a bit. “Well, as long we don’t hurt him in anyway, sure!”

 

He grinned. Perfect. “I’ll text you tonight, and we can come up with something, okay?”

 

Gwen nodded. “Okay! Do you have any ideas right now?”

 

He just winked. “Don’t worry about it,” he told her. “I’m Kiel Gnomenfoot. I’ll figure out an amazing plan!”

 

* * *

 

Okay, so it turned out coming up with an “amazing plan” was harder than it sounded. All afternoon, he racked his brain for something, _anything_ , he could do to avenge his pride as he worked on his Algebra, but it was no use. When he went to text Gwen, there was nothing he could come up with.

 

_idk wut to do :/_

 

He sighed, leaning back in his chair as he watched the three dots on his phone, waiting for Gwen to finish texting back.

 

_Well, I have an idea_

 

Kiel perked up a bit at this, Gwen sending a winking emoji.

 

_wait what_

 

_So I was searching through Owen’s social medias_

_And I found out he has this fanfiction account_

 

_we all know that already_

_he has ao3 fanfiction.net and wattpad_

_with that harry potter percy jackson crossover thing hes working on rn_

 

_No, I mean he had an old fanfiction.net account_

_It looks like he made it when he was ten or smth_

_Here, I’ll send you a link_

 

He clicked on the link she sent, and there it was. SuperDragonRider82? What kind of username was that?

 

He scrolled through the stories on the account, which at first glance seemed like cool ideas. But once he clicked on one of them– some How to Train Your Dragon story– he didn’t know if he regretted that decision or not.

 

The writing was horrible. There was almost no structure to the sentences, and way too many typos, especially knowing this was written by Owen, of all people. Kiel almost burst laughing as he read the author’s note, where Owen just wrote as if he were talking to the characters of the story. He couldn’t imagine Owen ever having written like _that_ ! The boy had _definitely_ improved since then.

 

Unable to read anymore of it, he went back to his texts.

 

_I was thinking we could use this in some way?_

_I mean, with the way he writes now, he probably doesn’t want any of us finding this_

_Considering how much he improved_

 

_ya, hes a lot better now_

_we could imply that we know about the account_

_liek drop hints and stuff_

_u know ;)_

 

_Omg, he’s gonna hate us! XD_

 

_we are so doing this_

 

* * *

 

And just like that, Owen’s face was redder than a tomato before they knew it.

 

Lunch had started normally, all of them talking about whatever they were interested in, which at the moment was a rumor Bethany overheard about some “Mr. Nobody” or something. She didn’t know the full thing, just that other students were saying he was some supposedly evil teacher or assistant principal or superintendent back in the day.

 

He and Gwen eventually locked eyes as Bethany spoke. The others were focused more on her or something right in front of them. Kiel winked. Gwen nodded. They executed the plan.

 

“You know, this is a totally random thought, but How To Train Your Dragon is a pretty good movie!” Gwen suddenly spoke up, leaning her head on Bethany’s shoulder, probably trying to look casual.

 

Owen clearly didn’t realize what she was up to. “Oh man, I was pretty much in _love_ with the movie when it came out, and even read the entire book series!”

 

Bethany nodded, also in the dark with the plan. “It was all he talked about when I first met him,” she added with a laugh.

 

Orion just shrugged, biting into his burger. “It’s cool, I guess.”

 

Kiel had to hold back a smirk. “You know, wouldn’t it be cool to be a _Super Dragon Rider_?”

 

“Definitely!” Gwen smiled wide. “With a _Night Fury_ named _Speedywings_!”

 

Kiel, totally in a casual way, glanced at Owen, who stiffened at the references to his old account. Kiel gently bit down on his cheek, trying not to laugh. It was all going according to plan! He and Gwen immediately went back and forth, referencing his old fanfictions.

 

“Racing against Hiccup and Toothless and beating them!”

 

“Changing their book of dragons to show how cool dragons really are!”

 

“Telling Snotlout to stop being a jerk and punching him in the face!”

 

“Maybe we could find a magic portal under our beds at 1:27 in the morning to get to Berk?”

 

“That’s unusually specific?” Charm spoke up, though she didn’t look up from her work.

 

Owen immediately shot up, his face redder than a tomato. “Uh, I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH GWEN AND KIEL OVER THERE!!!” he announced to the others loudly, pointing to the corner of the gym building. He took their hands as the other three stared at them weirdly, all of them confused but not questioning what just happened. He dragged the two to the spot, where they finally burst into laughter.

 

“You guys know about that account, don’t you?!” he hissed angrily, his fists curled up tightly and his face still bright red.

 

“What _ever_ gave you that idea?” Kiel asked as innocently as he could, though it was hard to maintain while laughing.

 

“I _know_ you two read my stupid self-insert fic from my old fanfiction account!”

 

“Well, next time don’t make a Tumblr post linking that account from your writeblr blog,” Gwen told him, smiling as sweet as she could. She held out a fist, which Kiel gladly bumped with his own. Man, Owen’s face was _priceless_ right now!

 

“Ugh! Just don’t tell the others about it, okay?!” he begged them, his face redder than before, if that was even possible. “I don’t want them to find that, and I don’t want to be reminded of that account, either!”

 

“As long as you stop dropping hints about me having a crush.” There was no way Owen could deny those terms; his dignity was at stake.

 

The shorter boy bit his lip in hesitation a bit. “Fine.” He held out his hand, the two of them shaking on it.

 

With the agreement, the three of them returned to their spot to finish their lunches. Owen was still pretty red in the face, much to Kiel’s delight, though it wasn’t as bright as before.

 

When the bell rang, signaling for the students to return to class, Bethany tapped Kiel’s shoulder.

 

“You and Gwen found that account of his, didn’t you?” she whispered low as they entered the building.

 

Kiel couldn’t but help but add his signature wink. “That we did!”

 

Bethany snorted a bit, which was quite cute. “Well, have fun reading those! He used to show me the stories on there before he made a new account.”

 

“Nah, I don’t think I need to read anymore,” Kiel replied, still smiling. “I read all that I needed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while since the last chapter, but I'm finally updating again! It's hard to work on this though with so much happening for school, so updates will be pretty slow.
> 
> I'm hoping that I'll have a lot more free time during winter break, so hopefully after Christmas there'll be a lot more chapters!
> 
> Also, there is no SuperDragonRider82 on fanfiction.net, nothing shows up if you try to search for that on there. (Besides, I wouldn't choose a username that someone else already has because I wouldn't want them to think I stole their username for this fanfic if they somehow end up finding this.


	11. So Sudden and New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bethany has feelings. She isn't sure how she feels about these feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is one of two stories of Bethany in this Au that is very personal to me. While my experiences are not entirely the same, it is still very reflective of what I went through from eighth to ninth grade.
> 
> Also, yes the title is another musical reference. I like doing them. But there are no references to that musical. :(

She wasn’t sure why she felt this way or when the feelings started, but she ignored it for a while. But she couldn’t keep ignoring them.

 

She knew she liked Kiel. Granted, it was weird because she never saw herself falling for someone so full of himself. Maybe it was because he  _ wasn’t _ just full of himself; he still had a heart that reached out to people when they needed help. He didn’t belittle others, he  _ helped _ them when they needed it. So, maybe it wasn’t that he was full of himself, he was self-confident while still caring. That’s what made the difference.

 

So she knew she had those feelings. It was normal to have a high school crush, right?

 

What she didn’t expect was to feel the same way around Gwen, the bright, bubbly girl who always knew how to make someone smile. She never seemed to let a bad thought ruin her day, and she always did her best to make sure that everyone had at least even the smallest thing to be happy about. It always made Bethany feel better thinking about her.

 

Just like around Kiel, Bethany would feel her heart beating a little faster around Gwen. That happy, floaty feeling she had around Kiel was the same one she had around Gwen. Everything they both did made her seem to smile more, and she found herself thinking about the two a lot, wanting to spend more time with them.

 

She didn’t realize it at first, though. Maybe it was because Gwen was a girl? She knew Gwen was a lesbian, as she wasn’t afraid to admit that, being out and proud, but she herself was straight as far as she knew. Right?

 

So why did she feel the same way she did around Kiel?

 

This wasn’t normal, was it?

 

Was something wrong with her?

 

“Hey, where is everyone?”

 

Bethany looked up from her so-called “burger” that she had gotten from the cafeteria. Gwen was standing there in front of her, looking around in confusion, their usual lunch spot quite empty.

 

“Uh, Kiel has some meeting with the boys’ soccer team, I think Charm’s doing some extra credit thing, Owen told me he’s making up an Algebra 2 test, and Orion got in trouble because he said some kid said something bad about me? I don’t know the full details of that, though.”

 

“Oh.” Gwen’s face fell a bit. “I wanted to invite you guys to this thing we were doing in GSA. But it’s okay, I guess.”

 

“GSA?”

 

Gwen nodded. “Gay-Straight Alliance,” she explained. “We’re doing this thing today at lunch where we’re going to explain some different sexualities and gender identities to help people understand the community better, and we were told to invite people.”

 

Bethany frowned a bit. She hated seeing Gwen like this: disappointed after having her expectations destroyed. Gwen always did her best to make others happy, so Bethany decided that it was about time to pay her back. “Well, I could go with you? We could text the others about what we learned after school.”

 

Her face immediately lit up immensely, the girl bouncing on her feet. “Yay!”

 

Taking the remains of her lunch with her, Bethany followed Gwen into the school. The classroom of the Gay-Straight Alliance was already almost packed by the time they entered in. Was it usually this crowded, or was it because of the event that was going on?

 

Bethany chose not to ask Gwen, instead just following her quietly through the crowd. The two girls settled on a spot in the corner just as a student went up in front of the Powerpoint slide projected on the whiteboard.

 

“Good afternoon, everyone!” they spoke loudly. Their voice projected throughout the large room, everyone quieting down, save for a few whispers. “Wow, there’s a lot of people here today! I was not expecting that, honestly…”

 

They cleared their throat before proceeding. “Well, anyway, if you’re here, you’re probably wanting to learn a bit more about the LGBT plus community. Or a friend forced you to come here, either one. But that’s fine! Because you’ll still be learning! We’ll start off by explaining some of the letters in LGBT, and then some sexualities you may have heard of, then we’ll end with a few gender identities you may have heard of as well, but don’t fully know. Let’s get started, shall we?”

 

As the presenter started, Bethany wasn’t fully listening, if she was being honest. She already knew what the terms “gay” and “lesbian” meant; at this day and age, who didn’t? Though the B did catch her attention.

 

“Most people describe ‘bisexual’ as the attraction to two genders, or attracted to both boys and girls. But some like to use it as the attraction to two  _ or more _ genders, not to be confused with pansexuality, which is attraction to someone  _ regardless _ of gender. How bisexuals label themselves is entirely up to them!”

 

She’d heard the term “bisexual” before, but never fully understood the term. Attraction to both boys and girls? There were people like that?

 

Something brushed against her hand. She looked down, seeing Gwen’s darker one just touching her own, almost as if their fingers could intertwine at any moment. She glanced up to Gwen, who probably didn’t notice; she seemed more invested in the presentation than their hands. Not that she’d blame her.

 

As the presentation ended, the student presenting having rushed through some gender identities, the bell signaling the end of lunch had rang. Her usual perky self, Gwen picked up her bag, smiling that bright smile of hers. “See you tomorrow at Bio?”

 

Bethany nodded, hoping that she wasn’t blushing, or that she didn’t seem too nervous. “Sure!”

 

Watching the shorter girl skip out into the hallway, Bethany mulled over her feelings, making her way to her Drawing I class. 

 

Was she attracted to Gwen?

 

* * *

 

So thinking about the presentation, and doing some research of her own at home, she was able to conclude that she was, in fact, not straight.

 

She pondered this in her head as she lay under her covers into the late hours of the night, staring at the ceiling through the darkness. The feelings she had for Gwen were just as real as the feelings she had for Kiel. And they were just as valid.

 

She let those feelings sink in.

 

She loved Gwen’s bright eyes and smile just as much as Kiel’s confident and laidback ones. She loved Kiel’s messy hair as much as she loved Gwen’s coily, bouncy hair. She loved Gwen’s excited laughter. She loved Kiel’s self-assured voice. She loved both of their outlooks on the world, Gwen finding the positive in almost every situation, and Kiel able to brave the challenges he encountered.

 

She loved just about everything about the two. And she didn’t mind at all.

 

Thinking of the boy and the girl she fell for, she whispered with a smile, “I’m bi.”

 

Having two crushes at the same time, though? That didn’t seem very normal. But that would be something she would worry about later. For now, she chose to focus on the fact that whether she had a crush on a boy, a girl, or even both, she was still valid. She was still bi either way, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with her at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah! Updates should be a bit faster towards the second half of my winter break, but I'm also working on a couple of other Aus for Story Thieves! One will be a one-shot that relates to Be More Chill (both the book and musical), and the other is going to be a Choose Your Own Adventure story inspired by DDLC! While I don't know when they will be done, be sure to keep an eye out!


	12. Technical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owen loves musicals just as much as he loves books! And as it turns out, someone else in his friend group shares this passion!

The theatre teacher had left the auditorium for something he was called to, meaning the students were left on their own. Luckily, none of the theatre kids were  _ too  _ crazy to do anything too wild, so nothing would happen while the teacher was gone.

 

Hopefully.

 

Deciding he had time to kill, Owen decided he’d continue reading the Wicked book by Gregory MacGuire. He plugged his earbuds into his phone, putting on the Wicked soundtrack, shuffling the songs. Hey, it was perfect!

 

He leaned back in one of the seats, reading of Elphaba and Glinda parting ways, which played out much more differently from the musical. Funnily enough, right after “Dear Old Shiz,” the first song to play on shuffle, was “Defying Gravity.” It was too perfect!

 

He continued reading, though it was hard when the song was telling a different story. He knew how different the book and musical were, and despite not having finished the book yet, he was already more biased to the musical. Though that was probably due to all the times he’d seen it. It was one of his many favorites!

 

“ _ I think I’ll try defying gravity _ !” a voice sang out right in front of him. “ _ And you can’t pull me down! _ ”

 

He wasn’t even aware that he’d stopped reading and started humming along to the song. He looked up, finding Gwen smiling right in front of him. He couldn’t help but smile back.

 

“ _ Can’t I make you understand _ ?” he sang back, unplugging his earbuds from his phone. Kristin Chenoweth's voice softly rang out from his phone speakers. “ _ You’re having delusions of grandeur? _ ”

 

“ _ I’m through accepting limits, ‘cause someone says they’re so! _ ”

 

And there was their duet, Gwen taking Elphaba’s role and Owen taking everyone else’s, though he quietly hummed along whenever Gwen sang. And he never knew how amazing her voice was! She had a power to her voice, and poured emotions into the lyrics. 

 

Their voices were strong as they reached the climax, though Gwen couldn’t quite reach the notes. Owen didn’t care; a teenager most likely wouldn’t have Idina Menzel’s range anyway.

 

The girl ended quite dramatically, holding her arm up as if she held a broom in her fist, though Owen was reminded more of the Hamilton logo.

 

“I didn’t realize you were in Theatre!” he exclaimed, pausing his music as the song ended.

 

“Yeah! I  _ love  _ musicals!” she exclaimed, still smiling wide. She was panting slightly, the song seeming to take a bit out of her, especially since she added her own little choreographies. “Wicked is  _ definitely _ one of my favorites!”

 

“Me too!” Owen frowned slightly, realizing something. “Wait, you’re not one of the actors for the school play.” He never saw her with them, and he was pretty sure he’d recognize her if she was performing.

 

Gwen pointed towards the back of the auditorium with her thumb. “I’m a techie,” she explained. “I’m one of the ones who handles the sounds and audios and stuff. It’s pretty cool.”

 

“Whoa, neat!” Owen was never really interested in being a part of technical theatre, but he understood how important it was. Without them, the shows would never be possible, and they really never received the credit they deserved. With Gwen part of the crew, he made a mental note to get her something for the hard work she’d be doing for the show.

 

She quickly took his hand. “Come on! I can show you!”

 

He pulled back a bit. “Wait, what about—”

 

“The teacher who handles tech and stuff stepped out for a while, so she won’t mind. Come on, it’s pretty sweet!”

 

Gwen dragged him to the sound booth, which Owen had to admit  _ was _ cool, though complicated looking. There were so many switches and buttons on the soundboard, it was hard to keep track of what was what.

 

“And these are for controlling the mics of the actors!” Gwen concluded, showing him some of the soundboard. She grinned at him, then laughed at his dumbfounded face. “It’s okay, it’s confusing at first!”

 

“Wow, and you’ll be working here during the play?” Owen could barely wrap his head around the fact she’d be doing all of this. How’d she remember all that information?!

 

“Yeah, me and May here! We’re the techies in charge of the sound!” She motioned to the blonde who sat nearby, scrolling her phone. She simply raised her hand, forming a peace sign.

 

“‘Sup?” she greeted nonchalantly without looking up.

 

Owen recognized the blue streak in her hair and her black shirt that read “Punk Princess” in pink lettering. “Hey, May!” he exclaimed with excitement. They didn’t have any classes together, so it was nice to see her again after several months.

 

She looked up, recognizing him immediately as her eyes landed on him. “Oh, hey Owen,” she greeted, her eyebrows raising. “You in the play?”

 

He nodded proudly, beaming. “I’m Man in Chair, basically the lead!” It was a weird name, yeah, but that was the name of his character according to the script of The Drowsy Chaperone. Personally, he thought of the character as a “George” or something.

 

She snickered. “‘Man in Chair?’ That’s such a dumb name for a character,” she commented, returning to her phone.

 

“Wow! You guys know each other?” Gwen asked, stars in her eyes.

 

Owen nodded. “We went to middle school together. Anyway, see ya!”

 

She raised a hand as they exited, though she didn’t bother to say anything or look up. She was never a very talkative type, anyway.

 

“I can’t believe tech week is coming so soon!” Gwen commented as they walked back down to the stage.

 

“I’m kinda nervous, honestly,” Owen admitted. “I mean, this is my first musical at this school, and tech week had never been that bad at the kid’s community theater.”

 

“You’ll be fine, trust me!” Gwen beamed wider. “Just know I’ll be supporting you back there all week, and during every performance!” She gave him a thumbs up.

 

Her excitement was too contagious, he couldn’t help but smile back. “Then I can’t wait for that!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We need some good Owen/Gwen friendship because they are such cinnamon rolls!
> 
> Also, I'm not a techie, but my sister was, though she helped with set design. I don't actually know too much about the soundboard, haha!
> 
> Also I'm really upset that I couldn't come up with a musical reference for the title of this song despite this chapter actually being about musicals, but since there's another musical related chapter coming up in the future, I'm hoping to come up with something!


	13. Small Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What started as a quick tutor session turned into a brief bonding moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title: a brief look into Charm's and Bethany's lives, which I may or may not delve into more in the future.

Charm never imagined having to tutor anyone else aside from Kiel. Yet here she was, explaining to Bethany where exactly the Quadratic Formula came from since Kiel was off at his Anime Club or his basketball meeting or whatever it was he was doing. It wasn’t like she knew his clubs and extracurriculars.

 

“Huh. So it’s literally just those two equations multiplied together?”

  
  
Charm nodded. “Exactly.”

 

Bethany huffed a bit. “How did mathematicians even figure this stuff out?” she muttered, her tone sounding slightly annoyed.

 

“The Greeks learned most of this through what they knew from Geometry, then applied that knowledge to their Algebra,” Charm replied, flipping a page of her notebook, opening to a clean one. She used a single hand to smooth it out, enjoying the texture. There wasn’t too much time to do work, but she loved the feel of the lined paper against her palm.

 

Bethany rolled her eyes. “It was rhetorical,” she said.

 

Charm turned away more than she needed to, feeling herself heat up. “Oh.” She wasn’t sure what compelled her to actually answer, but she tried to ignore it; she did things like this often, but she didn’t have time to dwell on her mistake. “Is there anything else you need to know?”

 

Bethany shook her head. “I think I’m good.”

 

While she wasn’t fond of constantly tutoring the others, she did wish Bethany had instead said yes, to her surprise; the silence between the two girls had quickly become awkward, Bethany playing with her fingers and Charm just rubbing the plastic of her leg, both of them staring at the ground. She never realized how quiet lunch was without the others, Owen and Gwen attending an important meeting for theatre and Orion choosing to eat lunch with the track team instead.

 

She wasn’t much for social interaction, but it was then when she realized how used to the others she had gotten. Now that most of the others were missing, she didn’t realize how comforting it was to just be around them. With only one other person, the conversation to fill up the empty space had to be done by them, something Charm wasn’t used to.

 

“How’d you get so advanced in math?” Bethany suddenly spoke up, breaking the awkwardness between them.

 

Charm turned to her slightly, the redhead staring at her curiously. “In my middle school education, I skipped over some years in math,” she stated simply. “They saw how well I excelled in sixth grade, so my mom was able to convince the school staff to place me in Algebra I instead.”

 

Bethany gave a small smile. “I think that’s pretty neat,” she replied. “Owen and I skipped to Algebra I in seventh grade after our school made us do some test to see if we were qualified to take the course.”

 

Charm nodded; her school did the same. She just happened to take the test earlier than most and was able to transfer quickly, something she prided herself in.

 

“So do you want to be a mathematician or something when you’re older?” Bethany asked with interest, closing her textbooks. “You’re pretty good and all.”

 

“I’m actually aiming for something in the field of engineering. It’s something I’m interested in, and I also want to be able to provide for my mom when I’m older.” She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing the plastic of her leg as she thought of her mother. “She’s always insisting that she can do everything on her own, ever since my dad and sisters passed away. I just want to aid her in some way.”

 

She could hear Bethany gasp. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

 

She opened her eyes, her good eye staring at her thumb unconsciously drawing small circles in her leg. “I know. I never brought it up.”

 

The silence was awkward yet again. For a moment, anyway.

 

“My parents were divorced for almost eight years before they got back together,” Bethany said out of the blue. “I wasn’t able to see my dad very often, only every other weekend, and um…” She sighed as she trailed off. “It’s nothing like your situation, I know, but…” She turned to her, a small, understanding smile on her face. “At least it’s something we kind of have in common? Sucky lives for a while?”

 

Charm couldn’t help but return her smile. “I guess,” she replied softly. It was an attempt to relate that she appreciated. Maybe it wasn’t the same, Bethany getting her father back, and herself having to be strong for her single mother, but it felt nice knowing this, like they were bonding.

 

As she slipped her notebook into her bag, the bell rang, signaling the students to get to their fifth periods. As Charm and Bethany walked back into the building, the redhead spoke up. “Hey, if you ever need to talk, hit me up, ‘kay, Charm?”

 

She nodded. “You’re not so bad, Bethany Sanderson.”

 

Bethany laughed. “You’re not so bad yourself, Charm Mentum.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is shorter than the rest, but to be fair, school has kind of been killing my motivation. Also I didn't feel like doing homework and did this instead.
> 
> Also, do other middle schools do that test thing in sixth grade where they see if you can take Algebra I in seventh grade? Because I literally based so much of these one-shots on my own school experiences, and have no idea what most other schools do.


	14. Bi the Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bethany finally decides that it's time to come out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned in Chapter 11 that there are two one-shots in here that are very personal to me. This is the second one. I've had this planned for so long, and I've poured my entire heart into this story, working a lot to make sure this isn't too rushed. I'm only hoping this story succeeded in my goal.
> 
> Bethany's story here is not 100% reflective of my own experiences, but it is reflective of feelings I've felt dealing with my identity and fear of people's reactions.

It was tearing her up. She couldn’t keep pretending anymore.

 

She didn't care if they were just crushes. She had to let them know as soon as possible. She had to stop hiding it. They deserved to know.

 

At least, that’s what she told herself.

 

But something held her back. What if they thought she was weird? What if they called her names, bad names that meant bad things? What if they called her greedy? Selfish? A freak?

 

“Beth, sweetie? Are you okay?” her mother asked with concern as she finished washing the dishes.

 

Bethany did her best to smile and nod, which took too much energy. “Y-yeah, I’m fine,” she managed to get out.

 

Her mother didn’t seem to buy it. “Are you sure? You haven’t touched your cereal at all.”

 

As casually as she could, Bethany pushed her bowl away from her. “Yeah, I’m just… not hungry, that’s all.”

 

Unconvinced, her mother went up to her, touching her forehead. Bethany could feel herself beginning to tremble a bit. “Hmm… you don’t seem to have a fever… is it your anxiety? Is something stressing you out? Have you been doing what your therapist has been suggesting to you?”

 

“Mom, I’m fine, I swear!”

 

Her mother sighed. She wasn’t satisfied with her answer, Bethany could tell, but she didn’t look like she was going to press on, which she was grateful for. She quietly sighed with relief.

 

“Orion, make sure you keep an eye on your sister, all right? Just make sure she’s okay.”

 

Seated next to her, her brother nodded obediently. “Sure, Mom.”

 

“But don’t pick fights with anybody! I don’t want another call from the office saying you got another detention!”

 

Bethany smiled a bit as Orion rolled his eyes. At least she had some comfort knowing that he was watching out for her.

 

* * *

 

On the ride to school, in the backseat of Owen’s mom’s Sedan, Bethany just scrolled through her phone, not wanting to talk. It was a good thing Owen seemed to understand without asking, letting her be silent through the car trip, and instead just chatted up his mom about some new book coming out that he was excited about. It wasn’t like Orion spoke too much with Owen, but he at least seemed to contribute to the conversation a bit.

 

Bethany had just been reading through articles she found through Google about bisexuality and experiences people had, some better than others. After a few horrible coming out stories, she chose instead to just scroll through Gwen’s Instagram, wondering if she maybe had anything posted among her aesthetic photos and selfies about being gay or anything.

 

She found one. It was in the caption of an old selfie of herself waving a pride flag proudly, the lesbian flag painted on both of her cheeks.

 

_ “Finding out you’re not straight when it’s considered the norm can be hard to accept, but it’s nothing like coming out to people who matter to you the most. Hiding from my parents that I’m a lesbian for almost a year since they’ve adopted me tore me inside, fearing that they wouldn’t love me if they found out. _

_ “Having found the courage earlier this week, I came out to them just a few days ago, and I couldn’t be happier to have been adopted by them. I’m very lucky to have a mom and dad who are very accepting of who I am, and are supportive of who I date, even though I have to wait until next year before they allow me to! XD _

_ “Not everyone is as fortunate to have such a positive coming out, especially with parents. Sometimes it’s safer to stay in the closet, but to anyone who isn’t straight or cis and is reading this: I hope that whoever you may come out to, those people will continue to love you for who you are!” _

 

As they arrived to the front of the school, Bethany pocketed her phone and took a deep breath. She’d come out to them today. It was now or never.

 

* * *

 

She had a chance to confess to Gwen in Biology during first period. She had a chance to confess to Kiel in English during second period.

 

She didn’t take those chances.

 

Each time she tried, she could feel her throat closing up, worried about what they would say if she added that she had another crush. Would they think she’s disgusting? A cheater? Would they tell her that she needed to make up her mind?

 

But she wanted to be with both of them. She didn’t want one without the other. They both meant  _ so much _ to her, she didn’t want to have to choose.

 

But what if she had to? Who would she choose?

 

She huffed.  _ Get a hold of yourself, Bethany Sanderson! _ she mentally scolded herself. Why was it so  _ hard _ ? Whether or not they returned those feelings, they’d still accept her! Gwen was a lesbian and Kiel had two moms! Why would they think any less of her if she was bi?

 

Lunch was the last time that day she could tell them. She had to pull herself together if she was going to do this. She put this off for far too long.

 

“Gwen? Kiel?” she called out to them as they walked toward their usual hangout. “I need to talk to you two. It’s uh…” She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “It’s important.”

 

Both of them turned to each other, looking very concerned. “You okay, Beth?” Kiel asked, frowning a bit.

 

“You  _ did _ look nervous about something this morning,” Gwen commented.

 

Bethany looked to both of them, her heart beginning to race again.

 

_ Whether or not they return my feelings, they’ll still love me. _

 

_ Whether or not they return my feelings, they’ll still love me. _

 

_ Whether or not they return my feelings, they’ll still love me! _

 

Repeating this mantra in her head over and over again, she took a deep breath. There was no turning back. Now. She would tell them now.

 

“I’m bisexual.”

 

Both of them blinked for a moment, Gwen beginning to smile. “Well, I’m glad you had the courage to come out to us!” she told her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

 

Kiel continued to frown, his eyebrows knitting together. Bethany could feel her heart pounding in her chest once more.

 

“Do the others know?” he asked with concern. “Was there a reason it was important to you to tell us? I mean, of course it’s important to you, but you seemed… really scared when you said you needed to tell us something…”

 

Bethany gulped. “Y-yeah, uh… the others don’t know… I came out to you first because uh… there’s another part to what I needed to tell you two…”

 

She closed her eyes. “I think… I think I have crushes on both of you. At the same time.”

 

The part she’d been dreading: their reactions to that statement. She braced herself for the worst. What they would say. What they would think.

 

“Oh my God! Yes!” She opened her eyes, finding Kiel pumping his fist, grinning widely. “I thought my flirting wasn’t working!”

 

Gwen just gasped, bouncing on her toes. “You like Bethany too?” she asked with excitement, smiling just as wide as him.

 

It was Bethany’s turn to blink. “Wait, what?” That was… not what she expected at all. Both of them liked her back?

 

“I’ve liked you since we first met in English class honestly,” Kiel confessed, smiling a bit. “Good to know that Charm’s advice did work eventually!”

 

“I liked you since we studied together for that chemistry chapter in Bio!” Gwen said. “I just didn’t do anything, since I thought you were probably straight or something!”

 

“Wait, but if you both like me, and I like both of you, how will this work?” Bethany frowned. “I don’t want to have to choose, now that I know you both like me.”

 

Kiel frowned. “Shoot, I didn’t realize…” he said.

 

Gwen tilted her head, a smile still on her face. “We could try a poly relationship,” she suggested.

 

Bethany and Kiel turned to her. Bethany recalled the presenter at the GSA meeting saying something about the word “poly.” She quietly wished that she had paid more attention to the presentation. “I um… don’t remember what that is?” she just said, hoping that could pass off.

 

“And I don’t know what that is,” Kiel said.

 

Gwen giggled a bit. “It’s fine! It’s short for ‘polyamorous relationship,’ and it just means more than one person in a romantic relationship! Like, three people dating each other!”

 

“But you’re a lesbian, Gwen,” Kiel interjected. “You’re cool and all, but I wouldn’t think of dating you since you wouldn’t date a guy or anything, and I honestly want to respect that about your sexuality.”

 

“But there  _ are _ poly relationships where people are just platonic partners!” Gwen said, still smiling. “Bethany could date both of us at the same time while we’re just friends! If that’s okay with both of you?”

 

Kiel shrugged, grinning once again. “Sure, I’m up for it, if that’s okay with you, Beth?”

 

She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t have to choose. She could love them both, and they would be fine with it. Unable to stop herself from smiling, she nodded. “Yes, I’d love that.”

 

“Awesome!”

 

She wrapped her arms around the two of them, trying not to cry.

 

“So what do you wanna do now?”

 

Taking both of their hands, Bethany said to them, “I think I’m ready to come out to the others as well.”

 

Hand in hand in hand, they walked over to their usual eating spot, where the other three were waiting.

 

* * *

 

Owen and Orion had been concerned at first, with the three of them not showing up for the first ten or so minutes of lunch without a heads up, but they calmed down once the situation was explained. And Bethany couldn’t have asked for a better reaction from them.

 

Owen just asked her a bunch of questions about it, sounding like he wanted to understand better. Charm just shrugged and said, “Cool.” Not much, but it was still fine with her. Orion just promised to beat up anyone who bullied her for her sexuality, which she tried to talk him out of. Hopefully it wouldn’t go that far, but it was nice to know it was his way of caring for her.

 

Confessing how her relationship with Gwen and Kiel would be did raise a few more questions, some questions being threats from Orion if they were to ever hurt her, but they soon accepted it as well, as long as she was happy and that they were all okay with it. Why should the details of their relationship be their business, anyway?

 

With Orion with her as she went home, they waited to be dropped off at their house, Orion promising to be right by her side when she’d come out to her parents.

 

As she and Owen had a long conversation in the car about their Algebra 2 quiz, she felt her phone buzz, a Snapchat notification about Gwen’s story. Curious, she opened it.

 

It was a filtered photo of a tree, a long caption on top of it.

 

_ “Coming out can be one of the scariest things to do, whether it’s coming out to a friend or family. It’s not easy to do, but when the time comes, it is one of the most courageous things I can think of. One of my closest friends came out to me and all of our friends today, and I am SO proud of her! I know it was definitely frightening, but she was able to overcome it and find that we still love her, no matter who she loves! To anyone else coming out or planning to come out, I hope you find the same support we gave our friend!” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember: you're amazing, however you identify. If you're not straight or cis, maybe you won't find the same support Bethany did from the people most important to you, but you will find support one way or another.
> 
> "And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside." –Lin Manuel Miranda


	15. Group Chat II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More texting

**_Beth <3_ **

_ You know whatd be cool? _

_ Junping into books _

_ Jumping*** _

 

**_Mathgirl_ **

_ Okay? _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ Srry im just rereading Animorphs and like _

_ Itd be cool to jump into the books and get those morphing powers _

 

**_Platonic gf_ **

_ :0 You’re right _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ You know they have the Alternamorphs books, right? _

_ The first one you literally get to be part of their group. _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ Ya but its not the same _

 

**_You_ **

_ you raise up jumping into books _

_ i bring you being the main charactee ;) _

_ like harry potter _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ YES!!! _

 

**_Beths Bro_ **

_ Doesnt everyone want him dead _

 

**_You_ **

_ only voldemort and his followers _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ Well, it would still be cool! _

 

**_You_ **

_ besides hes awesome and most of the other characters know it ;) _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ You dont read HP tho???? _

 

**_Beths Bro_ **

_ You and owen talk about it all the time _

_ And why are you textinf i see you staring at me from the kitchen _

 

**_Platonic Gf_ **

_ Guys!  _

_ What about being main characters in your own stories _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ Says the one texting that you couldve just said that _

 

**_Platonic Gf_ **

_ Like what you do is the book! _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ Sorry that was for Orion not you Gwen _

_ Love you! _

 

**_Platonic Gf_ **

_ Lol it’s fine! ^-^ _

 

**_Mathgirl_ **

_ Realistic fiction, basically? _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ Ugh, my life is too boring to be a book, then. _

 

**_Platonic Gf_ **

_ It doesn’t have to be _

_ Like make your own story about yourself _

_ I’d probably be a superhero! _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ OH! _

 

**_Beths Bro_ **

_ Same here _

_ But like batman or robin since itd be cooler to stop crime without powers _

 

**_Platonic Gf_ **

_ I’d personally want to be like Superman _

_ But maybe on another planet _

_ Earthgirl! _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ That kind of sounds like you’d be some nature conserving hero. _

 

**_Platonic Gf_ **

_ That’s not a bad idea tbh _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ Lol Orions book would be a comic book not a novel _

 

**_Beths Bro_ **

_ You say that like its a bad thing _

 

**_You_ **

_ id wanna be like harrh potter _

_ but maybe without the school part _

_ and with an evil scientist ;) _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ Why an evil scientist? _

 

**_You_ **

_ their cool villains ig _

 

**_Mathgirl_ **

_ THEY’RE** _

_ Not “their.” _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ There’s too many options, I don’t know what I’d be!  _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ An author _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ But that’s not a book character. _

 

**_You_ **

_ i mean u were able to do that when u were 10 ;) _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ I THOUGHT WE AGREED NEVER TO TALK ABOUT THAT AGAIN! _

 

**_Platonic Gf_ **

_ Well TECHNICALLY he isn’t talking about it _

_ He’s texting it! _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ Gwen. _

_ No. _

_ Stop. _

 

**_You_ **

_ hey charm could probably be my sidekick lol _

 

**_Mathgirl_ **

_ Why am I the sidekick? _

_ And isn’t Bethany your girlfriend? Shouldn’t she be your sidekick? _

 

**_You_ **

_ idk _

_ but ppl would want to read about me _

_ also beth is the love interest obvs _

_ with gwen also being her space gf maybe and one if my best friends _

_ youd pribably be the robot partner or something bc of your leg and all ;) _

 

**_Platonic Gf_ **

_ Ooh! Looks like we already got a crossover! _

 

**_Mathgirl_ **

_ First of all, my prosthetic leg has mostly plastic to keep it lightweight. _

_ Second of all, robots aren’t in Harry Potter. _

 

**_You_ **

_ no but i dont wanna copy it exaclty _

_ it could be like _

_ fantasy and sci fi mix maybe _

_ i know you like sci fi studf _

 

**_Mathgirl_ **

_ Thank you for the offer, but I’m pretty sure my story would be more realistic fiction. _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ I think Im fine jumping into stories _

_ It sounds more fun _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ Your story would be about you jumping into stories. _

 

**_Beth <3_ **

_ Thatd be cool but thatd be a lot of copyright lol _

_ Plus its just me jumping into stories and meeting main characters _

_ Sounds more like some huge crossover fsnfiction tbh _

_ UGH _

_ Fanfiction*** _

 

**_Beths Bro_ **

_ This is such a weird convo _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ You signed up for this. _

 

**_Beths Bro_ **

_ No you forced me into this group chat _

 

**_SuperDragonRider82_ **

_ You signed up for this when you became my friend. _

_ :) _

 

**_Beths Bro_ **

_ Ew _

 

**_You_ **

_ xD _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally didn't write this because I wanted to make this story very meta at some point


	16. Puzzled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orion has really enjoyed puzzles since he did that escape room, and one of his friends sure is one.

He didn’t know why it was so awkward between the two of them. He’d been able to bond with the other two boys of their group due to their shared experience in the escape room. With Bethany, he was forced to bond with her as she was his adoptive sister. Gwen… she just made him feel better about himself somehow. He could’ve sworn she was magic or something, the way she was able to make him smile.

 

Sure, with Kiel and Gwen dating his sister, he tried to be tough to them, but that didn’t really work out too well; they didn’t take any of his threats seriously, but at least they were good friends, on his terms at least.

 

Charm, however…

 

She was a complete mystery to him. Unlike the others who were often very open, especially when together, Charm mostly kept to herself, doing her work or just helping everyone with homework. She barely spoke much, if at all, and it was never to him. The most they really did was exchange nods, just acknowledging each other’s presence.

 

Orion wasn’t sure if it was him or her, but it was definitely a little strained between them. Maybe they only dealt with each other because they had the same group of friends? While it usually didn’t bother him, it just felt weird being the only one who never really connected with her.

 

Until now.

 

It was pretty out of the blue to be honest, and he had no idea how it happened.

 

He was hanging out with the others at lunch, though his sister and Gwen were absent, the first attending Art Club and the latter in Environmentalist Club. Kiel was not too far with Owen, trying to get the boy into anime. Goku No Something. Or whatever it was called. Charm was closer, doing her work.

 

With nothing really to do, Orion was just on his phone as he sat on the floor, playing a new tangram app he had downloaded. Ever since the escape room, he found himself really getting into different puzzles and mind games, wanting to prepare himself for when he’d do another. He especially enjoyed the more challenging ones, the ones that stumped him and made him think about how he should approach them.

 

Tangrams were a kind of puzzle he greatly enjoyed, having to create a bunch of shapes from only seven tiles. They really made him think how to place down each piece without them overlapping, and there was a sense of accomplishment each time he completed one, even if it was small.

 

This one, however, he’d been stuck on for hours since that morning. The shape was a little weird— he couldn’t tell if it was a rabbit or a fox— making it much more difficult. Most other tangrams took him under an hour to complete. This particular one he’d been working on since breakfast, with no luck whatsoever.

 

He huffed rather loudly, removing all the pieces from the board. He was used to being frustrated while doing puzzles, but that usually went away once he completed them. This one seemed to refuse to be solved, though.

 

“You’re putting the square in the wrong place.”

 

Above him, Charm was leaning over him, watching him play.

 

He only stared back up at her, unsure what she meant.

 

With her finger, she pointed to a completely different spot where he’d been placing the square. “You turn it 45 degrees and place it there.”

 

Seeing as his original solution failed, he chose to listen to her.

 

“Now place the parallelogram there, then turn that triangle 180 degrees and place it there.”

 

The solution became so clear once he did so, and he managed to fill in the rest of the board, finally solving the unsolvable tangram. He couldn’t help but smile a bit, moving on to the next one; hey, that puzzle had him stumped for ages, he deserved  _ some _ happiness.

 

“You enjoy tangram puzzles?” he asked Charm, working on the next puzzle, which was a lot easier than the previous one, that was for sure.

 

“Kind of.” He heard her shift down to the ground next to him. “I just enjoy puzzles in general. They’re one of the things that tend to calm me down.”

 

Orion stared at the next puzzle on his screen. It looked kind of like a swan or a goose. He turned to the taller girl next to him, handing her his phone. “You want to try?”

 

She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t object since she took the phone from his hand. She took a good look at the puzzle in front of her for a brief moment, then quickly, in about twenty seconds, solved it.

 

Orion blinked, surprised at the speed she completed it. In fact, she was fast solving the next ten in such a speed he couldn’t even comprehend!

 

“How do you do that so fast?” he marveled, Charm finishing up her eleventh puzzle.

 

Without looking up at him, she just shrugged, finishing up the next one. “I can just figure out how shapes fit together.” Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. She was on a roll! There was nothing that could stop her now!

 

Except for the school bell, signaling the end of lunch. Finishing up the seventeenth one quickly, she gave him back his phone, then stood up to gather her stuff. Orion stood up as well, picking up his bag.

 

As they made their ways to their language classes, he turned to look up at her. “Any kind of puzzles you recommend?” If she enjoyed puzzles so much, she probably knew a  _ bunch _ to try out.

 

She pondered for a moment before answering. “I’ve got several Rubik’s Cubes at home, but they’re not actually cubes. One is a pyramid. One’s a decahedron.”

 

Wow. Those sounded  _ extremely _ difficult to solve!

 

“There are other polyhedrons they come in.” She turned to him slightly. “I could bring one to school on Monday, if you want to try it out?”

 

He nodded. If the Rubik’s Cube was already hard, he could hardly imagine how much more difficult a pyramid could be!

 

Before that day, Charm Mentum was an enigma to him, a puzzle he couldn’t solve. Now, she was still a puzzle to him, but at least he started to unlock the puzzle. And even if he never figured her out, that’d be fine with him; at least they were now more than just passing acquaintances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you wrote this because you realized Orion and Charm never actually interacted in the Au so far, woops!


	17. Tense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen suspects that something is up with Kiel that could affect their relationship with Bethany.

Their first date was a success she’d have to say! Just a simple trip to the froyo place then a quick walk in the park, but it was one of the best moments of her high school years so far, even if she only started her first year. She couldn’t ask for a more perfect day.

 

The second date was when she noticed something up with Kiel. He acted like his usual self, sure, with his winking and his wit, but… it was around  _ her _ when he acted weird,  _ especially _ when she held Bethany’s hand or snuck a quick peck on her cheek.

 

She wasn’t always the best at reading people, but she could tell whenever people were bothered or upset about something. While she could decide to ignore the issue and pretend they were fine, she knew that was one of the worst thing they could do for a relationship like theirs. It was already past their fifth date. The next time she saw Kiel, she knew she had to talk to him about it.

 

Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long; he chose to reach out to her first.

 

“I wasn’t expecting you here!” she exclaimed with shock, letting him step into her home.

 

“I know, but I felt like I had to talk to you as soon as possible about this,” he quickly said, taking a few steps in but not going any further, as if he felt he were violating the place by being there. “And I think we need to talk in person.”

 

Gwen nodded understandingly. She figured it had to do with their relationship, and their relationship with Bethany. Kiel hadn’t been acting this way with anything else. It was always when they were together. But she didn’t say anything.

 

“We can talk about it in my room,” she said instead.

 

Wordlessly, after greeting her parents in the kitchen, he followed her up the stairs and into her bedroom, the walls painted a soft green with floral decals higher up. On the carpeted floor were a couple bean bags, which they gladly plopped themselves onto.

 

Being settled, Kiel took a deep breath and began. “It’s about our relationship with Bethany.”

 

Gwen did her best to hold a straight face. She already knew that. But she restrained from saying so.

 

“What about it?” she asked him. It was best if he said it himself, anyway. She didn’t know the full story. Besides, she needed to hear it from him before she made any accusations.

 

He shrugged. “I dunno, I just…” He sighed, pursing his lips. “I want us to work, I swear I do. I love Bethany and I want her to be happy.”

 

He paused, unable to look her in the eye. “It’s… I just… every time I see you with Bethany, I feel… I don’t know, jealous? I don’t want to, I know she loves you just as much she loves me.”

 

He shifted a bit in the bean bag, looking down at his hands. “I just… I don’t know what to do about this.”

 

Gwen gave him a gentle, understanding smile. She had no experience being in a poly relationship either, not even a monogamous romantic relationship for that matter, but she knew she still wanted to try. She’d done her research on other polyamorous relationships, reading articles on how they made it work.

 

She took his hands, intertwining their fingers together. “I get it, Kiel,” she told him. “This is new for me, too. And I’m so glad you told me.”

 

He lifted his gaze, his eyebrows raised slightly. “You mean, you’re  _ not  _ disappointed in me?” he asked incredulously.

 

She laughed. “No! In fact, I’m proud of you!” She let go, but she was still smiling at him. “Being in a relationship means communication, especially one like ours. You did the right thing by telling me your feelings.” Every article she read about polyamorous people all shared one thing: communication was the key.

 

She looked down, frowning a bit. She was afraid of this. The three of them had never been in a romantic relationship of any kind before, let alone a polyamorous one. They were all inexperienced in love, the most they’ve seen from stories and movies. Maybe this wouldn’t work out for them. Maybe it wasn’t meant for them. “But if you don’t want to do this anymore, then I understa—”

 

He shook his head. “I  _ want _ to do this,” he interrupted, determination in his voice. His eyes were resolute, his face reading that he was set on being able to do this. “I want to make this work, especially for Bethany.”

 

Seeing this determination, Gwen found herself with the same determination as him. “So what do you want to do?”

 

After another brief minute of talking, they agreed to let Bethany know. She deserved to know anyway. And she wasn’t mad. She told them to let her know if they ever felt like that in the future, wanting to do something to help both of them feel better.

 

“I love both of you equally, and I want to make sure you feel that way.” She took both of their hands, giving them small squeezes as she looked at the two of them with loving eyes. 

 

She turned to Kiel. “I’m so sorry I made you feel I don’t love you as much as I love Gwen,” she told him. “But I promise to pay more attention to what I do when I’m with both of you. Just let me know if it happens again.” She looked to Gwen. “Both of you.”

 

Gwen couldn’t help herself.

 

She got up to the tips of her toes and pecked her girlfriend on her cheek, Kiel following suit by bending down a bit and kissing her other cheek.

 

Bethany wrapped her arms around them both, laughing with delight, her partners laughing along as well.

 

Their relationship wasn’t perfect, and it never was going to be, that was for sure. Maybe it’d be far from perfect. But together, they were going to make it work, because that was what love was: working out your problems together, figuring out each other’s needs. Finding solutions that could work for everyone in the relationship.

 

Hugging both Kiel and Bethany, Gwen couldn’t ask for more better partners, whether romantic or platonic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me????? Writing about how romantic poly relationships work without ever having been in a real romantic relationship before??????? More likely than you think.


	18. As We Stumble Along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiel likes musicals. He's just only listened to one.
> 
> This is the second ever musical he's ever seen.

Kiel claimed to like musicals. But being honest, he really only knew Hamilton.

 

Sure, he’s heard of Wicked and Cats and Phantom Of the Opera and Les Miserables, but he never actually _watched_ them. Heck, he hadn’t even listened to the soundtracks! But Hamilton? Hamilton was the musical he’s listened to over and over again, watched countless bootlegs, to the point he’s basically memorized all the lyrics and staging.

 

So this was going to be the first musical he would see that wasn’t Hamilton.

 

He didn’t mind too much, though. He _had_ been meaning to check others out; he promised Gwen and Owen that he would. So this… “Drowsy Chaperone” would be a good start.

 

“Anyone know what this is about?” he asked the others as they settled into the seats somewhere in the middle. Owen and Gwen had sold them tickets since they were part of the production, so that was how they were all spending their Friday night: watching the school musical.

 

Bethany, seated to his right, only shrugged as she put her bouquets of thornless yellow and red roses beneath her seat. “All I know is that it’s not about Mary Poppins,” she replied, earning a laugh from him as he kissed her cheek.

 

Orion made a face, pretending to gag. “Get a room, you two,” he said, his sister laughing a bit as she playfully hit his arm. Kiel just winked at him.

 

“You actually thought this was about Mary Poppins?” Charm asked, seated on the other side of Orion. She wasn’t into musicals at all, having stated plenty of times before that she didn’t like them, so it was a little surprising she bothered to join them. Maybe she didn’t have anything better to do that night. Or maybe she just couldn’t resist how amazing they were, especially Kiel. He smiled, quietly hoping it was the latter.

 

“Oh, isn’t Gwen in tech or something?” Kiel brought up. He looked to the closed curtains in front of them, wondering if she was backstage somewhere.

 

“She’s doing sound.” Bethany was turning towards the back of the theater to the booth higher up, waving excitedly with a wide smile to someone. Higher up, through a glass window, Kiel could make out the silhouette of who appeared to be Gwen waving back.

 

He waved, too. He could still feel that slight twang of jealousy as Bethany paid a bit more attention to Gwen than him, but learning to handle it better, along with working with her and Gwen on it, it wasn’t as strong as before. Besides, Beth seemed to have predicted it, her fingers already intertwined with his as her eyes were elsewhere.

 

“About five minutes before the show starts,” Orion announced, checking his phone. Kiel and Bethany turned back to facing the stage, Kiel feeling pretty excited.

 

Five minutes couldn’t pass quick enough. He was antsy in his seat as the lights dimmed and the Theatre teacher came up front, giving some speech about the arts and the performance and blah blah blah blah blah. It wasn’t that Kiel didn’t care about the arts— he really did, with Owen in Theatre, Gwen in tech, and his girlfriend in the Art Club and drawing class— he just wanted to see the show already!

 

He finally finished talking, walking off the stage as the audience applauded. The spotlight dimmed, and it was silent.

 

“I hate theatre,” a familiar voice spoke out through the darkness.

 

Kiel blinked. That sounded like Owen’s voice. But Owen loved theatre, right?

 

The voice continued.

 

“Well, it’s so disappointing, isn’t it? You know what I do when I’m sitting in a darkened theatre waiting for the show to begin? I pray. Oh, God, please let it be a good show. And let it be short, oh Lord in heaven, please. Two hours Is fine, three hours is too much.”

 

“Is that Owen?” he whispered to Bethany, hoping he wasn’t too loud.

 

“I think so,” she whispered back, though she seemed unsure herself.

 

Owen’s voice continued. “And keep the actors out of the audience. God. I didn’t pay good money to have the fourth wall come crashing down around my ears. I just want a story, and a few songs that will take me away. I want to be entertained. I mean, isn’t that the point? Amen.”

 

The voice paused again, before rambling on about who knows what. Kiel sure didn’t know.

 

Soon enough, the lights came on, revealing Owen sitting in an armchair on the stage, dressed in clothes that one would see a man in probably his forties would wear.

 

“Oh, how things have changed.”

 

Yep. That was Owen. Kiel had to say he was pretty impressed; he almost believed Owen truly hated theatre. He wasn’t so bad of an actor, as Kiel thought he’d be. (Maybe it was just improv that he sucked at, though, since his own impression of Kiel himself wasn’t… all that great.)

 

It was tempting to wave at him, but Kiel held himself back.

 

The musical continued, and he found himself actually enjoying it, he had to admit. It was a pretty funny concept, an antisocial man who hated theatre sharing his love for one musical from the 1930s to the audience, even though he had just professed to hating fourth wall breaking. Owen really did suit the role he played, the man practically fanboying about “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

 

And while Kiel had no actual idea what musicals in the thirties were like, he had to say that this one was enjoyable! The songs were so fun and upbeat, the characters were _hilarious_ , and best of all, one of his best friends was in it! How could he _not_ enjoy it?

 

There wasn’t any intermission between the acts, unfortunately, and Kiel had to hold all his thoughts until the end if he wanted to talk about what he loved most about it. Which sucked, because it was pretty long. And there were even more things to love with each passing minute.

 

When the show finally ended (and Owen finally sang), Kiel shot up immediately from his seat as the curtain call began, clapping loudly for his friend, Bethany joining in next to him. Owen seemed to notice this as he took his bow, because he looked to them and and waved slightly.

 

Once the curtains fell, the four of them went over by the stage, waiting for the actors to come out, Bethany’s bouquets in her arms. Gwen was the first to come to them, the actors not yet out from backstage.

 

“Did you guys enjoy it?” she asked excitedly as she bounded over. “Please tell me you loved it! Tell me it was the best show you’ve ever seen!”

 

Bethany laughed. “Yes, Gwen, it was the best show we’ve ever seen,” she replied, handing her the bouquet of red roses.

 

Charm just shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad, I guess.”

 

As they talked about their favorite parts and Charms critiques on the show— Kiel, Bethany, and Gwen keeping up most of the conversation— Bethany started taking the red roses, putting them in her partners’ hairs, clearly getting bored waiting for her best friend. It was after Kiel and Gwen both had four roses in their hairs when Owen finally came to greet them.

 

“Dude, you were awesome!” Kiel exclaimed as he came closer. Owen was no longer in costume, wearing something that was more him.

 

Owen smiled his goofy grin of his, holding the bouquet of yellow roses from Bethany. “Thanks! So what was your favorite part?”

 

They rambled on and on, talking about the songs, Charm saying how it was pretty good for a school play, which prompted Owen and Gwen to make a reference to another musical. Kiel noted that was another one to check out. Their conversation was going on pretty fine, up until Bethany brought up Owen’s old performances, causing the boy to turn red in the face.

 

“My mom and I bought all the DVDs of his old performances from the community theatre,” she said, Owen becoming more red with each second. “I can show you guys next time you come to my place.”

 

“Is that what those are?” Orion said, raising a brow. “I thought those were bootlegged Little Mermaid videos.”

 

“Bethany, please don’t…” Owen begged softly, his blush not leaving his face.

 

Kiel laughed. “Okay, Beth, you’re _definitely_ showing me, I’ve _got_ to see this!”

 

“BETHANY, NO!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Owen and Gwen being theatre kids and needed a chapter where they're actually doing their performance.
> 
> Also please check out The Drowsy Chaperone, it's really good and funny!


	19. Girls' Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys got to hang out together. The girls should get a chance to hang out together, too!

“Hello, girls!” the woman at the door greeted the two of them, Gwen standing next to her, already in a teal tank top and forest green shorts. “I remember you, Charm!” she said, smiling at said girl, before turning to the redhead. “And you must be Bethany! Gwen told us how amazing you are. It’s nice to finally meet the girl of her dreams!”

 

“Mom, you don’t have to say that!”

 

Bethany laughed, sounding a little nervous from the compliment. “Thanks,” she said quietly, shaking Mrs. Terran’s hand.

 

She stepped in, Charm right behind her. She had no idea why she agreed to this; she’d never been one for this kind of stuff. But here she was, her backpack filled with her toiletries and pajamas along with her homework, having just stepped out of Mrs. Sanderson’s car, about to sleep over at Gwen’s place.

 

Charm never understood the point of sleepovers. Mostly it was due to the fact she wasn’t very comfortable sleeping somewhere unfamiliar. However, she  _ had _ slept at Gwen’s before, though at the time, she was ridiculously exhausted. She didn’t know if that would affect anything now that she was coming here mostly fine.

 

“You can just drop your stuff in my room! My mom will set up the inflatable mattresses there! Follow me!” The two girls followed her up the stairs, into her soft green painted room. 

 

Charm studied the walls with her eye, covered in printouts of different show and movie characters, Playbills of different musicals hanging in between, and floral decals near the ceiling. In the corner was a twin sized bed with pink sheets and pillows, a few stuffed parrot toys laying about. Right next to her bed, a white wooden desk with an alarm clock, a lamp, and all her necessities for homework and school.

 

Needless to say, the room basically screamed, “Gwen Terran lives here!”

 

“If you want to change now, the guest bathroom is just down the hall!” Gwen said, going back down the stairs. “I’ll make us popcorn for the movie!”

 

Charm watched Bethany took out her pajamas, which were adorned with magenta stars. Charm unpacked her own sleeping clothes, which was just an old shirt from a place she used to volunteer at and old P.E. shorts from Porterhouse Middle.

 

Bethany turned to her with a small smile. “You can go change in the bathroom,” she told her. “I can just change in here.”

 

Charm just nodded wordlessly, before making her way down to the bathroom. It wasn’t large, and it wasn’t too small either. Charm locked the door before undressing, making note of the small details around her as she put on her sleepwear.

 

She came out in her clothes, Bethany already heading down the stairs. Charm glanced back at the room; it was Friday night, and her homework in her bag still needed to be finished. She always hated it when she still had work to do on Saturday.

 

She chose to go down the stairs. Maybe Gwen would set aside time for them to do homework? Or something like that. She knew her friends usually didn’t do homework on Friday, so it might not have been likely. Why did she go down the stairs?

 

She spied the clock on the kitchen wall. 5:03. Not too bad. After the movie, she could probably do homework, assuming it was two hours at the longest. Whatever they chose to watch.

 

Downstairs, Gwen had two popcorn buckets ready: one for Charm, and the other for Bethany and herself to enjoy. At least Gwen had been mindful, knowing that Charm wasn’t fond of sharing food with others, especially after lunch on the first day of high school. There were also blankets and pillows on the couch, as if they were expected to fall asleep there.

 

They settled on something called Paulie, one of Gwen’s favorite movies apparently. About a bird with the ability to understand human speech.

 

Throughout the movie, Charm held her tongue whenever there was something way too unrealistic; she learned quickly that it wasn’t something her friends really enjoyed about her. So she remained quiet.

 

“That was definitely one of the cutest movies I’ve seen,” Bethany stated, a smile on her face as the credits began.

 

“I know, right?” Gwen smiled wide, hugging one of the pillows. “This movie I think got me interested in parrots when I was little!”

 

“Oh yeah, I could see with all your bird toys!”

 

Charm said nothing, only nodding as they spoke. The movie wasn’t one that really interested her, but she chose to let the other two enjoy it.

 

She checked the clock. About 6:37. There was still enough time for her to do homework.

 

Gwen jumped up, excited and almost hyper. “Let’s do a board game now! If you guys are up for it!”

 

“Heck yeah!”

 

Charm still had homework, though. But Bethany and Gwen wanted to do something else. So she just followed after them.

 

Gwen went over to a closet which was filled with various board games. Charm recognized a few she liked to play with her own mother: Boggle, Scattergories, Monopoly, Scrabble, to name a few.

 

“Do you have Exploding Kittens?” Bethany asked, searching among the games.

 

“‘Exploding Kittens’?” Charm repeated, not sure if she heard correctly.

 

“Um… no?” Gwen seemed just as confused confused as Charm.

 

Bethany just sighed. “Nah, it’s fine. I can bring it to school sometime so we can all play. It’s pretty fun!” She turned back to the assortment of games, before taking one out. “How ‘bout this? I haven’t played this in years!”

 

“Ooh, it’s been forever since I played that! I used to play it all the time with one of my friends from middle school!”

 

The Game of Life. Not a game Charm had played before. She’d heard of it, yes, but never played it.

 

“You up for the game, Charm?” Gwen asked with a smile.

 

“I guess.”

 

“You can back out whenever you’d like, you don’t have to play if you don’t want to!”

 

“I, uh, don’t know how to play.”

 

Gwen gasped. “We  _ have  _ to teach you!” she exclaimed, already setting up the board on the floor in front of the couch.

 

“ _ You  _ have to teach  _ us _ ,” Bethany told her. “I haven’t played this in ages.”

 

Gwen didn’t mind at all. And Charm found she actually enjoyed it! It didn’t take any real skill or thought, but it was more of a game of chance, which made sense to call it the Game of Life. She did admit, while she liked predictability, life threw some things at you that you wouldn’t expect.

 

Like this sleepover.

 

After about two hours of playing, they all finally made it to retirement. After counting up their total money, Charm found that she made a close second, Bethany having beaten her by only one hundred dollars.

 

“Congrats, Beth!” Gwen cried happily, hugging the redhead.

 

She laughed. “Thanks!”

 

Charm checked the clock again. 8:43. And it was already dark. She probably didn’t have time to work on homework.

 

“What would  _ you  _ like to do now, Charm?”

 

Charm turned back to them, blinking. “What?”

 

Gwen smiled. “This is a sleepover for all of us! Bethany and I already did stuff we wanted, how about you?”

 

Charm pursed her lips, looking down as she drummed her fingers against her prosthetic leg quickly. Now that she  _ could  _ suggest to do homework, she wasn’t sure how Gwen and Bethany would react. As far as she knew, most teenagers weren’t fans of homework, not to mention most of her friends were huge procrastinators. It felt really stupid to ask to do homework, especially since it was a Friday night.

 

“Come on, we’re not gonna make fun of you or anything!” Bethany said.

 

Gwen nodded. “We’ll do whatever you’d like to do! Well, as long as I’m sure my parents will approve. I can’t just like, take the car and just drive us to a bar or something!”

 

Bethany laughed a bit, Gwen laughing along with her.

 

Charm took a deep breath through her nose. “I, er… want to do my…. um, my, homework…”

 

She winced as she heard herself. God, she must’ve sounded so weird to them. What teenager wants to do homework at a sleepover?!

 

“Well, I have a lot of homework this weekend, anyway,” Gwen said, her smile never faltering. “Starting it early is actually a good idea!”

 

Bethany chuckled a bit. “I actually brought some of my homework over,” she confessed. “We’re learning something in Algebra 2 that I don’t understand.”

 

“All right, then! Homework session!”

 

Charm blinked, before getting to her feet and following them back to Gwen’s room. That was  _ definitely _ not the response she expected.

 

In Gwen’s room, they all brought their homeworks out of their bags, sitting on the floor surrounded by paper and their textbooks. After answering Gwen’s question about what music was okay to play, the room was filled with the Hamilton instrumental album playing on Gwen’s laptop as they worked.

 

Charm never realized how nice it was. She was used to working in solitude at home, but she didn’t mind Bethany and Gwen talking next to her, nor did she mind the two asking for help with their math. It  _ was _ a little frustrating at first when they didn’t understand her explanations, but it was satisfying to see their eyes light up with realization eventually. They were actually able to finish quite a lot of work!

 

It was almost one in the morning when Mrs. Terran knocked on the door, poking her head in. “Girls, it’s getting pretty late!”

 

“It’s Saturday tomorrow, Mom,” Gwen told her, not looking up from her Biology.

 

“Gwen, it’s tomorrow now.”

 

“Even so, you’re all still young teenagers who need their sleep, especially you, Charm.” She smirked. “Don’t think I forgot about why Gwen brought you over a couple months ago!”

 

Charm felt her face heat up as Mrs. Terran brought that up.

 

“Come on, you girls get your teeth brushed and I’ll set up the mattresses. Besides, I want you girls to be awake when your parents pick you up in the morning.”

 

The three of them made their way over to the guest bathroom, Gwen bringing her toothbrush from the bathroom she shared with her parents to join them.

 

“You know, we should do that more often!” Gwen said after spitting into the sink. “The doing homework together thing. I mean, I was able to do homework  _ and  _ enjoy spending time with my friend and girlfriend!”

 

“Ooh! We should invite the boys when we do! Owen is  _ the  _ biggest procrastinator I know.”

 

“You wouldn’t mind, right Charm?”

 

Charm spat water into the sink after swishing it around in her mouth. As she wiped her mouth with a paper towel, she shook her head. Gwen smiled.

 

“I don’t think I have enough room in my house for all six of us, though.”

 

“Owen’s mom owns a library, we could meet up there?”

 

“That’s perfect!”

 

They settled into their blankets, Gwen reminding her mother to turn off the lights in the hallway (“We need to save electricity to at least help the Earth a little bit!”). Charm removed her prosthetic leg, gently placing it next to her mattress on Gwen’s floor as she quickly reviewed the night she just had. It was surprisingly enjoyable! As she closed her eyes, she realized that she wouldn’t mind if she was invited to another sleepover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk why but I really love writing in Charm's POV. It's fun for me. :)


	20. In Between

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orion and Bethany are fighting. No one likes this.

“Is Orion here?”

 

“Not yet, if he’s coming.”

 

“Good.”

 

Bethany set down her stuff with a huff, aggressively plopping her tray from the cafeteria onto her lap as she sat cross-legged on the ground. “He better be going to his stupid track meet.”

 

“Uh, isn’t track season over for now?”

 

Kiel leaned over to Owen, whispering into his ear. “Is Beth okay?” he asked with concern.

 

Owen just shrugged. “I dunno,” he confessed. “It was a little tense riding with them this morning. I think they might’ve had some sort of fight or something.” Owen could remember the awkwardness of the car ride, Mr. Sanderson trying to create a conversation and ignore the obvious tension in the air.

 

Well, considering they were brother and sister, something must’ve happened that morning between them. Owen may have been an only child, but he knew from books and TV that siblings tended to fight, some more often than others.

 

Orion soon showed up, only to groan the moment his eyes laid on his sister. “Why are _you_ here?!” he growled, making sure to put his stuff away from her, still within the group.

 

“I _eat_ here, stupid!”

 

“Says the one failing Biology.”

 

“A C isn’t failing! I could put you in a headlock right here and now if you don’t get out of here!”

 

“I have a brown belt in karate, I can easily beat you before you can even _try_!”

 

“We took karate together, I know how you fight!”

 

Owen and the others could only sit there awkwardly as the two continued to bicker, loudly calling each other words that Owen didn’t even realize were in Bethany’s vocabulary. He felt even more awkward as other groups of students started staring at where they were.

 

“Well joke’s on you! We have the same mom! So _ha_!”

 

“I’m not even biologically related to you! So _ha_!”

 

“Oh my God, would those two just shut up?!” Charm murmured, her fist tightly gripping her pencil.

 

While Owen wouldn’t word it like that, he did agree; Orion and Bethany’s arguing was getting annoying. _Really_ annoying. And he couldn’t even tell what they were arguing about. It just sounded like they were trying to find _any_ reason to get mad at each other.

 

Were siblings always this petty?

 

Thankfully, they eventually stopped fighting and just resorted to glaring at each other every few minutes. Still really awkward, but a little bit better than earlier.

 

“I really hope they’re not like this all day,” Gwen said, frowning.

 

Owen nodded. He really didn’t want to deal with an angry Bethany during sixth period. But having known her for over three years, however, he probably would have to.

 

* * *

 

Just like he predicted, Bethany remained pretty mad through PE. During the laps around the gym, she just ranted to him about everything she hated about her brother. Of course, they were a lot slower than usual since Bethany was spending more energy on this rant instead of running.

 

Well, Owen could now tell you every single bad habit of Orion. Not that it would help him with anything.

 

Still, it was pretty exhausting to just listen to, and Owen wasn’t really in the mood for this negativity.

 

At least he had a break from it in seventh period, where he told Kiel that it wasn’t really getting better. (The only thing Kiel had to say about it was: “Yikes.” That was probably the best word to sum up the situation.)

 

And it certainly wasn’t any better when his mom picked them up after school.

 

The only good thing was that at least they were quiet. However, the tension between them was way too thick, filling up the car that even Owen’s mom could sense it. The conversations she tried to strike up with all of them were way too forced.

 

After the two siblings were dropped off, not even muttering a “thank you” to Owen’s mom, she turned to her son instead of backing out of the Sandersons’ driveway.

 

“Okay, what’s going on between Bethany and Orion?” she asked him.

 

Owen shrugged. Why were moms so nosy about the lives of their kids’ friends? “They’ve been fighting all day, and I don’t even know what they’re fighting about.”

 

His mom rolled her eyes, sighing. “Kids,” she muttered, finally pulling out and driving the two of them back home. “Well, they’ll probably make up eventually. Maybe even tonight.”

 

“I dunno.”

 

After dinner, Owen quickly texted Bethany, checking if it got any better between her and Orion like his mom predicted.

 

_God hes such a jerk_

 

_Orion?_

 

_Duh_

_Who else_

 

_He’s your brother, though._

 

_So what?_

_Hes more of a pain hinesly_

_Honestly***_

_Dumb phone_

 

_Look, I don’t really know much about having siblings, but don’t you think this fight with him is kind of petty?_

 

_No_

 

_Really?_

 

_Yes_

 

Owen sighed. Why did she have to be so stubborn sometimes?

 

He considered texting Orion, but something told him that he’d only get the same results that he got from Bethany, with maybe different words. And harsher language. So he didn’t bother.

 

Why did those two have to be like this?

 

He quickly texted Gwen, Kiel, and Charm, letting them know that the two hadn’t seemed to cool down at all.

 

Well, he’d better prepare for tomorrow, in case they fought again. Seeing how mad they were, he figured they’d be upset with each other for days.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, check out this meme!”

 

“Oh my God! _Please_ send me that!”

 

Owen couldn’t believe it. From the looks of it, neither could Gwen or Kiel.

 

Just the day before, when they started their silly argument, they had been at each other's throats. Now here they were, about twenty-four hours later, and they were acting like yesterday had never even happened. They weren’t even fighting that morning either (miraculously)!

 

“Yesterday was real, right?” Kiel asked under his breath. “I didn’t dream up yesterday, did I?”

 

“I was going to ask the same thing,” Owen replied.

 

Charm just shrugged next to them, clearly unphased by the strange sight. “Siblings can be like that,” she just said.

 

“You have some?” Gwen asked.

 

“I did.”

 

Watching the two siblings laugh, Owen could only come to one conclusion: siblings were definitely weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, as someone who has a sibling, I don't know how fights like these might feel to someone who is an only child, so I did my best.


	21. Group Chat III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter break part 1

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Hey, guys!_

_**Heathers** _

_I swear to God if you send that stupid photo of Lightning McQueen crocs again I will end your life when I see you again in January._

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_I promise it’s not that this time!_

_I’m just curious if you guys will be free over the break._

_**Waitress <3** _

_Idk_

_My familys headed up to NY for liek a week or smth_

_Maybe for the lats few days?_

_Last**_

_**You** _

_:0 Lucky!_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_TAKE ME WITH YOU!!_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Chill guys im just visiting my grandparents_

_Were not going to Broadway_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_:(_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Besides its not gonna be fun_

_I have so much notes to do for WHAP_

_**Heathers** _

_WHAP?_

_**Waitress <3** _

_AP world history_

_It should be APWH but my tescher writes WAHP so_

_Teacher**_

_WHAP**_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Why’d you even join WHAP?_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Idk i really thought itd be easier than it really is_

_But its hard and annoying_

_And even worse theres this firl in there whos super good shes got a high A_

_Girl***_

_And she doesnt even pay attention in class_

_And shes always talking diring the lessons_

_During****_

_**You** _

_Rip_

_Don’t worry you can do it!_

_Don’t stress yourself and make sure to take a break!_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_I am on my way!_

_**You** _

_There’s a little surprise before supper and it cannot wait!_

_**Heathers** _

_Must you guys do this in the group chat?_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_I’ll be there in just a minute, save my plate!_

_Sorry, LOL!_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Just because my dad has money doesnt mena we’ll be able to see Hamilton_

_Its like a thousand bucks per ticket_

_**Hamilton :P** _

_thats why bootlegs exist ;)_

_also hi_

_**Waitress <3** _

_No_

_No bootlegs_

_**You** _

_Come on they aren’t illegal!_

_**Heathers** _

_Aren’t they?_

_**You** _

_Recording them yeah_

_But not watching them_

_**Hamilton :P** _

_;)_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Bootlegs are how I’ve thrived._

_And that’s how I’m going to thrive this winter break._

_Along with my books._

_**Hamilton :P** _

_do u have any of the chicago cast btw_

_i havent found any and i wanna see it_

_**You** _

_Dw Kiel! I have one!_

_I can send it through Gmail!_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_WHOA, SINCE WHEN DID YOU HAVE THAT?!_

_**You** _

_For a while_

_I got it from a trader on Tumblr who gifted it_

_OH YEAH!_

_Owen a community theater in the town next over is performing In the Heights over break!_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Whoa, really???_

_**You** _

_Yeah I’m gonna see it the day after Christmas with my parents_

_Wanna come?_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Heck yeah!!!_

_Kiel, you should join us._

_**Hamilton :P** _

_why_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_ITH is the first musical written by LMM._

_Also you should watch more musicals besides Hamilton and Drowsy Chaperone._

_**Hamilton :P** _

_:o_

_i cant go tho_

_my moms and i r goung somewhere for christmas_

_idk where yet but were going aoemwhere around christmas so icsnt come :(_

_but i think it might be a cruise_

_**You** _

_Ooh, have fun!_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_You goyim and your goyish holidays, SMH._

_**Hamilton :P** _

_lol_

_ur just sauing that bc you dont go anywhere for hanukkah_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_VACATION IS NOT HOW HANUKKAH IS OBSERVED!!!_

_Seriously, why do you guys travel? Isn’t Christmas supposed to be celebrating Jesus’ birth or something?_

_**You** _

_Lol!_

_I mean yeah but I think it got really Americanized over the years_

_Also it didn’t originally start off actually being a Christian thing_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Huh, I didn’t know that._

_**You** _

_Well now you do! :P_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Charm, are you doing anything over the break?_

_**Heathers** _

_I don’t know. I’ll probably be staying at home with my mom._

_Might volunteer somewhere maybe._

_**You** _

_Not gonna travel?_

_**Heathers** _

_No, my mom and I don’t really have enough to really go anywhere._

_**You** _

_Well I still hope you have a good break!_

_:D_

_Maybe I can visit you sometime over break!_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Did Bethany leave? I just realized she hasn’t texted in a while._

_**Waitress <3** _

_Oh rip sorry_

_Ive juts been stalking the chat_

_Also my familys going to be leaving soon so_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Go see Hamilton._

_**Waitress <3** _

_No_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Dang it!_

_**Hamilton :P** _

_see hamilton ;)_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Just because youre my bf doesnt mean that ill change my midn on this_

_Mind**_

_**Hamilton :P** _

_:(_

_**You** _

_See Hamilton_

_**Waitress <3** _

_The same applies to you except as my gf_

_**You** _

_Lol jk XD_

_But if you do end up seeing a show try going for Wicked or Phantom_

_The tickets should be cheaper_

_Maybe DEH but that won the Tony’s this summer so it might not be that cheap_

_**_**Fiddler On The Roof** _ ** _

_Plus, Noah Galvin is there as Evan instead of Ben Platt, and I don’t know if you really want to see him as Evan._

_He’s said some pretty shady things in the past._

_Oh! Maybe the Spongebob Musical!_

_**Heathers** _

_There’s a Spongebob musical?_

_**Hamilton :P** _

_lol id watch that_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Say what you want, it’s good!_

_**You** _

_Yeah!_

_WAIT!_

_OOTI_

_WATCH OOTI_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_YES!! THAT’S A GOOD ONE!!_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Ooti?_

_**You** _

_Once on this Island_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_Once On This Island_

_**You** _

_I’ve wanted to see the revival since I heard about it but my parents don’t want to fly up to New York just for musicals_

_So I’ve only seen high school productions_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Ill see_

_Ill ask my dad if we can see any of those_

_As the musical experts i trust your judgements_

_**Hadestown** _

_You guys_

_Text too much_

_**Hamilton :P** _

_rip_

_**Hadestown** _

_You guys keep giving me too many messages_

_**Heathers** _

_Just put this on mute if it bothers you too much._

_I occasionally do that when I’m busy._

_**Hadestown** _

_Its the number of messages i get that bothers me not the notifications_

_Its annoying to read through_

_**Fiddler On The Roof** _

_We’re sorry. ;-;_

_**You** _

_;-;_

_**Hadestown** _

_Also bethany were going in five minutes get your butt down here_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Come get me in my room i dont wanna get up_

_**Hadestown** _

_Come down_

_Dad is waiting_

_And mom_

_**Waitress <3** _

_Fine_

_Srry guys gtg_

_Ill text again when i get to the airport but on the plane ill disappear_

_**Hamilton :P** _

_why cant u txt in the car_

_**Waitress <3** _

_My dads thing about making this a family trip and doenst want us to he distracted bu technilogy on our way there_

_Okay bye for real now_

_**You** _

_Enjoy New York!_

__**Fiddler On The Roof** _ _

_^^^_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're thinking: "Was this just an excuse to ramble about the musicals you love?"
> 
> Yes, yes it was. Kind of. It also was to settle on what year this is taking place, if you can figure it out with the context clues I gave.


	22. Group Chat IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter Break part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to my friend Lani from Tumblr/the Discord server for an idea I used in this chapter.

**_You_ **

_Ughhhh dont wanna fo back to school tmrw_

_T-T_

_Go**_

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_oof ;(_

 

**_You_ **

_Not helping_

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_Well at least we have reached the year of twentygayteen!_

 

**_You_ **

_Also not helping bc school aucks_

_Sucks****_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_Hey, are you guys seeing what’s going around on Snapchat?_

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_wait wut_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_Apparently, Moira got expelled from our school almost two months ago._

_Everyone is just finding out now._

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_Which moira_

_Theres like at least three moiras at our school_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_Moira Gonzalez._

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_I saw her name earlier today in the newspaper. Is that why?_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_Yeah._

_According to the article, she stole something, but it’s written that she attends Baker Street right now, not Riley High._

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_Oh dang_

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_wait she goes to baker street now_

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_That school sucks_

 

**_You_ **

_Ikr_

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_oh actuaky that explains why mr magister never calls her name kn attendance_

_i just thiught she transferred classes or smth_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_Well, it makes sense that no one knew the school expelled her._

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_I kinda feel bad for her_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_According to the article, she’s done numerous illegal activities in the past. Riley High wouldn’t want a reputation of harboring a delinquent._

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_Isn't Baker Street that private school run by Doyle’s dad?_

_I heard it’s really strict there especially for a private school_

 

**_You_ **

_God i hate Doyle_

_That suck up_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_I think he’s part of the reason she got expelled._

_I mean, he’s always snitching on everyone._

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_Well thats called justice_

_She did something illegal and got the consequences she deserved_

 

**_You_ **

_Dude, you literally get detention every month or whatever for beating up some kid_

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_The schools justice system sucks_

_Im here giving those kids what they deserve_

 

**_You_ **

_They deserve black eyes?_

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_Theyre bullies_

_Thats only part of what they deserve_

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_Wait isn’t Moira’s dad a cop?_

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_double oof_

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_Well she should know better than to break the law_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_I heard it has something to do with her mother._

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_Owen, why do I now have 47 notifications on Instagram from you?_

 

**_You_ **

_Omg what_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_Did you like all my photos on there?_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_UHHHH._

_THAT WASN’T ME._

_THAT WAS._

_FOWEN._

_MY TWIN._

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_Really?_

 

**_You_ **

_Omg Fowens back_

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_arent charms ig photos just family stuff from four years ago_

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_Wait Fowen is a real person?_

 

**_You_ **

_No_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_Okay, Kiel, why do you know what’s on my Instagram? You don’t even follow me there._

 

**_You_ **

_Owen told me that when he was younger he told his classmates that he had a twin named Fowen so he would get more birthday presents_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_WHY ARE YOU TELLING THEM?!?_

 

**_You_ **

_Hed also blame Fowen whenever he did something bad to try to get out of troubel_

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_Oh my god_

_Spill more about fowen_

_Im actually interested_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_NO, YOU’RE NOT!!!_

_CAN WE JUST GO BACK TO TALKING ABOUT HOW WE HATE DOYLE?!?_

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_No we want to talk about fowen_

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_oh my god beth could actually give us all dirt on owen_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_Okay, you’re not my best friend anymore, Bethany._

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_oh im sorry i meant fowen_

 

**_You_ **

_:(((((_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_So basically, you liked all my posts on Instagram._

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_I mean._

_You accepted the follow request two weeks ago._

 

 **_Spicy Cheetohs_ ** _named the conversation “watch out owen, fowens out to get ur girl”._

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_KIEL!!!!!!_

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_HJHDJDJDJDJSJ_

 

**_You_ **

_iM_

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_Um_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_What happened?_

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_;)_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_WHY CAN’T I LEAVE THE CHAT?!?_

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_Kiel just renamed the group chat lol_

 

**_You_ **

_Lmao_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_SERIOUSLY, WHY ISN’T IT LETTING ME LEAVE?!?_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_If you have an iPhone, it means someone isn’t using Messages._

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_if ur scared fowen is here we can kcik him out u dont hve to leave ;)_

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_I ACTUALLY HATE YOU RIGHT NOW!!!_

_WAIT WHO ISN’T USING MESSAGES?!?_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_Me._

_I use Android._

 

**_Chocolate Brownie_ **

_NOOOO!!_

_WHY?!?_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_Android is better than Apple in so many ways._

 

**_Spicy Cheetohs_ **

_oh my god ive been waiting five minutes for his reaction_

_did he seriously not answer after that_

 

**_You_ **

_Rip Owen 2003-2018_

 

**_Mint Ice Cream_ **

_Seriously? Is that why none of you guys said anything after I mentioned my Android phone?_

 

**_Cinnamon Roll_ **

_He will be missed_

 

**_Black Coffee Tho Thats Not A Food_ **

_This is admittedly entertaining_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not mentioned: Bethany asking for her friends’ favorite foods to name them in her contacts, and Gwen not having a favorite food.


	23. Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing special about this chapter, really. Just establishing a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi this isn't mentioned in the story at all but I originally wanted to write this as if they lived in the Northern part of the USA then I realized that I wrote this as if it took place somewhere warmer because as a Floridian I have no idea what it's like to deal with snow and going to school so this AU probably takes place in Florida or something. Idk. There's no snow.
> 
> Also this got kind of rushed towards the second half just because I wanted to get this out and finally move this dang AU along I'm tired of me not doing anything. If this is bad that's on me and I'll probably be too lazy to fix anything okay let's go.

“Y’all are going to lose your  _ minds _ when you see Kiel!” Bethany exclaimed as she ran to their eating spot, unable to stop grinning.

 

“Since when were you a cowgirl?” Orion asked walking next to her, raising a brow.

 

“It’s gay talk,” Gwen answered without hesitation before her girlfriend could say anything.

 

“Gwen, I’m bi.”

 

“Yeah, but that’s still at least a little bit gay.”

 

She opened her mouth to argue, before pausing and just accepting it. “Well, I guess you’re not wrong. But anyways, you guys are going to  _ flip _ when you see Kiel!”

 

“It’s already the first day back from winter break,” Owen pointed out, before taking a small bite from his sandwich. “Did he get in trouble already?”

 

Bethany shook her head. “That’s Orion’s job.”

 

Orion glared at her, opening his mouth to retort, until Gwen gasped loudly.

 

“Oh. My. Gosh!!!”

 

The other two turned the direction she was facing, and their eyes might as well have popped out of their sockets. Orion’s jaw dropped, and Owen was probably being overly dramatic with his reaction, but still! How could he not?!

 

“Who are you and what have you done to Kiel?!”

 

“I know, right?!” Bethany said, her grin never having left her face. God, their reactions were just too good!

 

“What? Why’s everyone looking at me like that?” Kiel asked, blinking a bit as he dropped his bag to the ground.

 

“You wear  _ glasses _ ?!” Owen exclaimed, his sandwich almost dropping to the floor.

 

Kiel just shrugged. “Contacts, actually. But I lost them on the cruise over the break. My moms kinda got mad at me for that, but at least they were able to order new ones.” He winked, but its effect was very different, with the black, circle frames around his eyes.

 

“Since when were your eyes  _ green _ ?!” Gwen cried out, her dark eyes going wide.

 

Kiel smiled a bit at the question. “They’ve always been green! I just like purple for my contacts.”

 

“The fact that you all thought he actually had purple eyes makes me question how I ever became friends with you all,” Charm said, not having looked up from her work.

 

Bethany noticed Owen beginning to shake excitedly, a smile growing on his face. She knew that look; it was something he did whenever he got excited and started fanboying, and being his best friend, she knew  _ exactly  _ what he was thinking of.

 

“Dude, I need to see you in a Harry Potter cosplay ASAP!” he exclaimed, his grin growing wider.

 

Bethany wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, laughing a bit. Of course Owen would say something like that! “Would that make me Ginny, then?” she asked with a smirk. With her red hair, she could  _ definitely  _ pass as a Weasley.

 

Gwen cooed at the sight of her partners being a little lovey dovey, while Orion just rolled his eyes. Bethany just stuck her tongue out at him.

 

“So how long will you look like that?” Owen asked.

 

“My new contacts should be arriving by my birthday, January 16.”

 

Bethany’s eyes widened. She stared at Owen and her brother with shock, both of them staring back.

 

“What? Why are you all looking like that?”

 

Bethany turned to her boyfriend, her grin wide on her face. “So, I think it’s important that you know  _ our  _ birthdays,” she told him.

 

“Wait, do the three of you have your birthdays on January 16 too?!”

 

“Not exactly…”

 

“Bethany and I have really close birthdays,” Owen said, “and so our moms decided it’d be easier to combine one celebration for ours.”

 

“And Orion and I have really close birthdays,” Bethany added, “and my parents decided since they recently got remarried to combine Orion’s birthday with ours this year instead of a family dinner like we did the past two years.”

 

“We’ve been meaning to invite you guys, we’re celebrating on Bethany’s birthday at her place, January 20.”

 

“Of course I’m going!” Gwen immediately exclaimed, jumping up to hug her girlfriend. “Three birthdays in one?!  _ Plus  _ Kiel’s?! That’s totally something I gotta see!”

 

“Guess I’ll have to tell my moms that I’m moving the celebration to January 20, then!” Kiel tried to wink again, which was still weird with his glasses.

 

“Okay, seriously get those contacts soon because you winking in those doesn’t look right and I will explode if you’re not back to normal.”

 

“All right, chill dude, I’ll get my new contacts by your birthday thing.”

 

* * *

 

Gwen showed up 30 minutes early, knocking on the door just as Bethany’s mom put the cake in the oven.

 

“Gwen, hi!” she exclaimed, rushing to hug her. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

 

“Well, I’m not missing my girlfriend’s birthday!” the other exclaimed, gently squeezing her back.

 

“Happy birthday, Bethany!” Mr. Terran greeted her, holding out a hand which she shook with a smile.

 

“Thanks!”

 

“Elijah!” Bethany’s mom exclaimed with a smile behind her. “Come on in!”

 

Both Gwen and her father stepped into the house, before Gwen’s eyes went wide. “I left the presents in the car!”

 

Her father handed her some keys before she rushed out the door faster than Bethany had ever seen.

 

“Is Sarah with you guys?”

 

“She’s at work right now, but she says happy birthday to the birthday boys and girl, though!”

 

Gwen came back, clearly struggling to carry the four wrapped boxes in her arms. Taking the largest two from her, Bethany led her to the backyard, where Owen and Orion were  _ supposed _ to be decorating. Instead, the boys were throwing balls of streamers at each other, dodging each other’s projectiles.

 

Bethany just rolled her eyes, placing the gift on the table. Boys.

 

She and Gwen soon found themselves joining them, Bethany on Owen’s team and Gwen on Orion’s team, when Charm arrived with her mom.

 

“I’m probably not the person to say this, but you guys are terrible at decorating,” she greeted them as she stepped into the backyard as well.

 

“Glad you could come,” Owen said, his cheeks a little red. Bethany wasn’t sure if it was because he had been running around the yard or if it was because he was blushing. She figured it was most likely both, as she was pretty sure he had a crush on Charm. He wasn’t that subtle, being honest.

 

They settled down more with Charm around (though mostly it was because no one wanted to anger her by accidentally hitting her with a streamer ball). They chose to just talk instead, like they usually did at school.

 

Kiel showed up with his moms kind of late, but at least he showed up, with no glasses again. Just those bright, purple eyes that Bethany adored, even if they were just colored contact lenses.

 

She went up to hug him, only to be beaten by Owen, who looked incredibly short next to Kiel.

 

“Thank you for looking like yourself again, even if you looked like Harry Potter before,” he said quickly, before releasing him from his grip.

 

Kiel winked, which  _ finally  _ looked normal after about a week and a half of weird feeling winks. “Don’t worry, I’ll be looking like this again for a while. Until I lose these contacts, too.”

 

“Kiel,” one of his mothers said almost threateningly, giving him a stern look.

 

He laughed. “Mamá, I’m joking!”

 

She shook her head. “Ay, mijo, tienes suerte que te quiera.”

 

“¡Te quiero también, Mamá!”

 

Rolling her eyes with a smile, she kissed his forehead before joining her wife talking with the other adults.

 

“Wait, you speak Spanish?!” Owen cried out. “You mean you could’ve helped me with my Spanish homework this whole time?!”

 

“My mamá grew up in Spain, so she taught me when I was a kid.”

 

“Oh yeah, I left my gift for you in my room, be right back!” Bethany snuck a quick kiss on his cheek before running back inside, quickly heading up to her room. She grabbed the blue bag from under her bed, then as an afterthought, took the Exploding Kittens game with her as well.

 

“I’m back, guys!” she announced, arriving to an arm wrestle between Kiel and Orion. “...what the heck happened in the thirty seconds I left?”

 

“Charm said something so now Kiel and Orion are trying to see who’s actually stronger between them,” Owen replied, his eyes not leaving the other two boys’ hands.

 

Wow, that explanation was pretty much useless.

 

Bethany put the game and the bag on the table, watching as well. There was very little happening, though she did notice that it was leaning slightly in Orion’s favor. Having wrestled her brother several times in the past, she had to admit that Kiel was holding up pretty well, though his face was starting to turn a little red. Orion was a pretty tough opponent to beat in strength.

 

“Cake is here!” Ms. Conners stepped out into the backyard with Bethany's mom, a cake covered in white frosting held in their arms. 

 

Both boys immediately released their grips on each other, Kiel smirking despite the red in his face as Orion only stared back.

 

“You’re lucky that cake arrived. Otherwise, I’d be beating you right now!” Kiel winked, as if hiding the fact that he was losing just seconds ago.

 

“Is that what you call that? Winning?”

 

Bethany could only roll her eyes alongside her brother. Her boyfriend was ridiculous at times.

 

The cake wasn’t split in anyway, as it turned out that all three of them wanted chocolate. It was covered in white frosting, red icing on the top reading “Happy Birthday Owen, Bethany, and Orion!” Three lit candles, each shaped like the number 15, sat on top.

 

All the parents who came with their kids came out, Bethany’s mom taking photos of the three birthday kids. (Bethany dragged Kiel into the photo as well, since his birthday had been a few days ago.)

 

Once the candles were blown out and slices of the cake were passed around, they finally started a game of Exploding Kittens. Once Kiel, Charm, and Gwen had learned how to play, the yelling had begun.

 

Charm yelled at Orion when he sent an attack at her. Gwen and Owen found themselves alternating as they put down their Nope cards, Gwen losing the battle having one fewer Nope Card than Owen. Bethany laughed as Kiel pulled out an Exploding Kitten, believing this to be the most fun she’s ever had for a birthday celebration.

 

Until it turned out that Kiel had another Defuse card and placed the Exploding Kitten right back onto the top of the deck, and it was her turn to draw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so tired I know I haven't updated in a while but for a while I haven't been as motivated to write, despite wanting to continue because holy heck I want to get to writing Kara but I'm still trying to stick to my plan but it's almost a year since I first started writing this AU and they're still just freshmen dang my laziness.


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